227 Volts

Using algorithms to evaluate status

Justin — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 18:02:46 +0000

Today I had an interesting one happen. Starbucks has a reward program wherein if you use their card 15 times you go to a “Gold Level”. Once at that gold level, it keeps rotating every 15 times. You can check the status by simply logging in to their website and go to your “My Rewards” [...]

Using algorithms to evaluate status is a post from: 227 Volts. Thanks for being a part of it - Justin

Send me email at my web address–what?

Justin — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 22:42:30 +0000

So, I take the bus to and from work every day as I’m still a bit European in my ways. The bus company – I won’t mention any names – recently announced some new routes and as such they’ve posted announcements about the upcoming changes. Have a look at this one, which I found funny [...]

Send me email at my web address–what? is a post from: 227 Volts. Thanks for being a part of it - Justin

Dear Columbia, you need a java update

Justin — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 04:26:01 +0000

So, the winter season is upon us and so are the updates. Yep, I’ve found another one. Was shopping for a new winter jacket the other day in the Columbia store, and what did I come across? You guessed it, another kiosk infraction (and it’s running XP – yuck)! Let’s take a closer look at [...]

Dear Columbia, you need a java update is a post from: 227 Volts. Thanks for being a part of it - Justin

Is United Ready for Continental?

Justin — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 04:42:58 +0000

Over the past ten years travel has been a necessity in the business I’m in. I’ve had to travel all around the world for various clients, projects, meetings, etc. As such, I’ve been a Delta Platinum/Diamond member for multiple years, Virgin Atlantic Silver/Gold member, Scandinavian EuroBonus Gold member and most recently United Premier Executive (I’m [...]

Is United Ready for Continental? is a post from: 227 Volts. Thanks for being a part of it - Justin

Adding the cool factor to Microsoft

Justin — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 00:32:03 +0000

With the upcoming release of Kinect for the Xbox (everyone should have gotten a system update within the past few days), Microsoft has added one other “cool” factor to the marketing push for Kinect. The executive team at Microsoft, who are prominently displayed on the Press Pass site: http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/exec/a-d.aspx have all been turned in to [...]

Adding the cool factor to Microsoft is a post from: 227 Volts. Thanks for being a part of it - Justin

Dear SeaTac, I upgraded your kiosk for you

Justin — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 02:50:32 +0000

So the other day I flew in to SeaTac thinking, wow, I haven’t seen any blue screens or problems recently (ok, I did see a few but didn’t have my camera), when BANG. At that moment, walking to catch the bus (yes I take the bus to and from the airport), I came across a [...]

Dear SeaTac, I upgraded your kiosk for you is a post from: 227 Volts. Thanks for being a part of it - Justin

You know you were on a bad flight when…

Justin — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 23:10:44 +0000

This morning I woke up to check my email after travelling 16 hours yesterday to my destination only to find the following email in my inbox: On behalf of all of us at XXXX Airlines, I want to take this opportunity to reach out to you regarding Flight XXX on October 24th. I realize how [...]

You know you were on a bad flight when… is a post from: 227 Volts. Thanks for being a part of it - Justin

Why Yahoo! never made it too far

Justin — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 21:10:21 +0000

Disclaimer: I am not a programmer. I did a bit of programming in college and I “dabble” occasionally. I by no means consider myself hard core but the following might assume I think I am. We all know the hype of IE9 right? It’s the latest and greatest out of the halls of Redmond. They’re [...]

Why Yahoo! never made it too far is a post from: 227 Volts. Thanks for being a part of it - Justin

Spring, Samsung, Google and WinMo

Justin — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 17:39:05 +0000

I use Sprint for my cellular service like many other Americans. It’s reliable, it’s fairly inexpensive, it has an unlimited data plan and, well it works (I won’t mention friends and colleagues who love their fruit machines, but can never get them to work due to the network, but alas that’s another story). When I [...]

Spring, Samsung, Google and WinMo is a post from: 227 Volts. Thanks for being a part of it - Justin

Bytes by TechNet

Justin — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 14:01:18 +0000

If you missed TechEd North America this year, they launched a new initiative called Bytes by TechNet. I was lucky enough to get interviewed by Keith Combs from TechNet…Check out the interview here: Alternatively find the entire interview on TechNet here Bytes by TechNet is a post from: 227 Volts. Thanks for being a part [...]

Bytes by TechNet is a post from: 227 Volts. Thanks for being a part of it - Justin

The mobile (cell) business is hotting up

Justin — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 23:39:43 +0000

For those of you eagerly awaiting the Windows Phone 7 Series, the other mobile industry news must be quite interesting as well. What is it I’m taking about or referring to? Well, let’s take a look at two big stories around the mobile industry over the past 24/48 hours: - Android sales overtake the fruit [...]

The mobile (cell) business is hotting up is a post from: 227 Volts. Thanks for being a part of it - Justin

Sorry I’ve been OOF for a while

Justin — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 23:27:24 +0000

For those of you that like acronyms, apologies, but I’ve been OOF as of late. OOF is a term usually found in email which stems back to the original mail system days when someone was Off Of Facility or Out Of Facility. Many people commonly mistake it with OOO which is the newer spin on [...]

Sorry I’ve been OOF for a while is a post from: 227 Volts. Thanks for being a part of it - Justin

Reflections of a Bus Trip

Justin — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 14:40:12 +0000

It’s been almost one month since my last blog post and for that I apologize. For those of you who know me will know that I was on a bus for two weeks down the entire east coast of the USA followed by a week at TechEd and then a two week stint (back again) [...]

Reflections of a Bus Trip is a post from: 227 Volts. Thanks for being a part of it - Justin

Windows UI Wierdness

Justin — Mon, 17 May 2010 05:57:39 +0000

The User Interface (UI) in Windows is more friendly than ever now that Windows 7 has been released. Furthermore, it syncs and matches that of the Windows 2008 R2 interface, so if you know your way around one, you can easily navigate between the two. I’ve been doing loads of work with both lately on [...]

Windows UI Wierdness is a post from: 227 Volts. Thanks for being a part of it - Justin

Want a free copy of Microsoft Office?

Justin — Tue, 11 May 2010 17:53:42 +0000

Marketing…Design…It’s all about getting your name out there and your brand recognized. Well it seems quite a few people know what a copy of Microsoft Office looks like. Average retail price of Office, depending on the version is ballpark $100 (ish). Some engineers decided to see how much this $100 was worth to the average [...]

Want a free copy of Microsoft Office? is a post from: 227 Volts. Thanks for being a part of it - Justin

Sirius Travel doesn’t seem to serious about updates

Justin — Thu, 06 May 2010 01:49:52 +0000

Technology is all around us. 10 years ago, we had modems and BBS systems, today everyone connects everything with their mobile phone, with a 3G (or 4G card) and our data lives in the cloud. It’s no wonder the satellite radio phenomena is growing at an increasing pace. So much so Ford includes it in [...]

Sirius Travel doesn’t seem to serious about updates is a post from: 227 Volts. Thanks for being a part of it - Justin

How Microsoft Certification Can Stimulate Your Career

Justin — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 18:42:14 +0000

About three years ago I faced a challenge in my career…Do I take the exams to become an MCITP or don’t I. Today I’d like to share a story with you about how taking those few exams has changed my career. As I sit here today typing this blog post, I’ve just been able to [...]

How Microsoft Certification Can Stimulate Your Career is a post from: 227 Volts. Thanks for being a part of it - Justin

SmartDeploy – Part 2

Justin — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 07:09:25 +0000

When you grow up, your parents always tell you (or mine did), be careful what you say or what you wish for…Well, last week I made a posting on SmartDeploy, stating I was going to check the software out and find out what it had to offer in comparison to other imaging products or what [...]

SmartDeploy – Part 2 is a post from: 227 Volts. Thanks for being a part of it - Justin

Yet (another) reason why I don’t like Google…

Justin — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 06:34:11 +0000

As someone who uses a computer on a daily basis to do my work (you tend to do that as a computer engineer and consultant), I have various Operating Systems installed and I also have various browsers installed. One of those browsers happens to be Google Chrome. Admittedly I rarely use it as I most [...]

Yet (another) reason why I don’t like Google… is a post from: 227 Volts. Thanks for being a part of it - Justin

Deploying with a Twist – SmartDeploy

Justin — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 01:40:26 +0000

For many years I was a principal consultant with Altiris (in the US and EMEA) and when XP was released I oversaw more deployments than had hot dinners. I got deployment burn out and went to work for a smaller IT company to try to gather my thoughts (and get of the IT radar) only [...]

Deploying with a Twist – SmartDeploy is a post from: 227 Volts. Thanks for being a part of it - Justin

The Seattle Bingball (er basketball) team

Justin — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 20:59:45 +0000

If you live in a European country, you’re probably used to seeing sporting teams wearing advertising on their tops…not so in the USA, until today. Microsoft play a key role in the Seattle community scene and have always supported the local soccer/football team the Sounders, however today they’ve announced an even larger relationship with the [...]

The Seattle Bingball (er basketball) team is a post from: 227 Volts. Thanks for being a part of it - Justin

Getting Started with Intune

Justin — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 18:24:09 +0000

Earlier this week Microsoft announced a new program called Windows Intune: The concept behind it is simple…Management via the cloud – including licensing. Now, that simple sentence means a lot more under the hood. Let’s take a look at what Intune is and what it has to offer. Licensing One of the more difficult things [...]

Getting Started with Intune is a post from: 227 Volts. Thanks for being a part of it - Justin

The iPad “availability” problem

Justin — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 21:14:17 +0000

As I’ve made it clear before, I’ll ensure to say it once again to preface this post. I am a Microsoft MVP and 80% or more of my day involves Microsoft technologies. Therefore I know them quite well (or at least I hope and think so) and I know they have their fair share [...]

The iPad “availability” problem is a post from: 227 Volts. Thanks for being a part of it - Justin

Windows 7 + MDOP + Office 2010 = One Big Bus

Justin — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 16:19:30 +0000

Do you have a passion for IT? Do you want to learn more about Windows 7? Do you want to know more about Office 2010? Do you even know what MDOP is? If any of the above questions intrigued your interest and you are close to the east coast of the USA, this is THE [...]

Windows 7 + MDOP + Office 2010 = One Big Bus is a post from: 227 Volts. Thanks for being a part of it - Justin

How (Yahoo) adverts (and Firefox) contort security

Justin — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 09:47:38 +0000

It’s the keyword everyone tells consumers these days to be aware of. It’s used to scare monger people and it’s used to ensure you’re not complacent. It’s my colleague Andy Malone’s favourite word. What is it? SECURITY Yes, security. Make sure your anti-virus is up-to-date. Make sure you have the latest patches. Make sure your [...]

How (Yahoo) adverts (and Firefox) contort security is a post from: 227 Volts. Thanks for being a part of it - Justin