Videos

Rain, snow, ICE, or shine, Sonja Thompson brings you TROLOV — that’s TR Out Loud on Video — which highlights the hot discussions and members on the boards. To listen to this week’s TR Out Loud as just an audio file, download the mp3.

Take a look at that remote corner of your bookcase, and you may spot a dusty binder or two containing a long-forgotten business case document. Creating it required hours of hard work and maybe even a few heated exchanges with colleagues. But despite all that effort, there it sits — nestled between the books Getting the Most from MS DOS 3.0 and Punchcards: The Future Is Now. This episode of Sanity Savers for IT executives explains why your business case deserves better treatment and how you can turn it into one of the most important components of an IT project.

When you start a new help desk job, you need to get a few things straight before the calls begin rolling in, and not all of them will be covered in your training manual. In this IT Dojo video, Bill Detwiler shares five tips every support tech should follow before they start a new help desk job. Once you’ve watched this IT Dojo video, you can find a link to the original TechRepublic article and print the tip from our IT Dojo Blog.

Despite the cold weather that’s passing through Louisville, KY — the home of TechRepublic — this episode of TROLOV (TR Out Loud on Video) still captures the hot discussions and members on the site this past week. To listen to this week’s TR Out Loud as just an audio file, download the mp3.

IT professionals are often told that they need to learn how to communicate better. But you seldom hear anyone define what they mean by “communicate,” much less explain how someone can learn to do it. This episode of Sanity Savers for IT executives discusses five of the communication skills that IT leaders and their staff need to develop, based on the book “Leading IT Transformation: The Roadmap for Success.”

Whether you’re traveling across the city or going from one side of the building to the other, there’s nothing more irritating than being on a support call and not having the right tools. Since experience is always the best teacher, TechRepublic asked its members for advice in compiling a list of tools for IT support pros, and we received a lot of great feedback. Bill Detwiler goes over a list of items that should be in your IT repair toolkit. Once you’ve watched this IT Dojo video, you can find a link to the original TechRepublic article and print the tip from our IT Dojo Blog.

In this episode of TROLOV — that’s TR Out Loud on Video — you’ll find out what discussions and members are most active on the boards, plus you’ll learn how quite a few TR members answered Hal 9000’s Question of the Week: “What’s your least favorite IT job, task, or responsibility?” To listen to this week’s TR Out Loud as just an audio file, download the mp3.

In a previous episode, Jason Hiner talked about some of the worst aspects of working in IT. But we shouldn’t forget that IT is still a very rewarding career for a lot of people. And understanding what draws people to the field is just as important for recruiting and retention as understanding what might drive them away. This episode of Sanity Savers for IT executives counts down the top five things that make it great to work in IT.

At CES 2009, ViewSonic showed off their entrant into the 3D monitor market–the FuHzion 22″ VX2265wm widescreen LCD. When used with the NVIDIA GeForce 3D Vision glasses and a compatible video card, the VX2265wm produces a stereoscopic 3D image. The VX2256wm supports a 120Hz frame rate, 5ms response time, and 1680 x 1050 resolution. The VX2265wm will be available in January 2009 with a MSRP of $399.

At CES 2009, ViewSonic launched the VPC100 ViePC, all-in-one PC. The machine has an 18.5″ LCD monitor, Intel Atom 1.6 GHz processor, 1GB RAM, 160GB HDD, DVD +/- RW drive, 1.3 megapixel Webcam, Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11 b/g WiFi, and 3-in-1 card reader. The VPC100 ViePC has an MSRP of $549 (US) and will be available in February 2009.

IT pros love to share stories about the dumb things that users do, but sometimes you have to admit your own mistakes. Every admin has at least one embarrassing story about something they did to mess up their network. In this IT Dojo video, Bill Detwiler discusses several dumb mistakes that can really mess up a network, so that we can avoid them in the future. Once you’ve watched this IT Dojo video, you can find a link to the original TechRepublic article and print the tip from our IT Dojo Blog.

TROLOV — that’s TR Out Loud on Video — is back in action this week, ready for a brand new year here at TechRepublic. Find out what discussions and members received the most (trol) love over the holiday break. To listen to this week’s TR Out Loud as just an audio file, download the mp3.

At CES 2009, OQO unveiled the next model of its ultra-mobile PC–the OQO model 2+. OQO offers the model 2+ in 1.33GHz and 1.86GHz configurations, the later with an OLED touchscreen display.

Sony was one of several companies who demonstrated 3D display technology at CES 2009. This is a very short clip of a prototype 3D TV running a Gran Turismo demo. At its press conference, Sony didn’t provide many details about its plans for 3D television, but they appear to be partnering with Real D–journalists were given REAL D glasses through which they could watch the 3D TVs.

At CES 2009, UK-based Novo introduced the Minoru 3D Webcam. Available from Amazon.com for $89.95, the Minoru uses two cameras to create a stereoscopic effect when viewed with red and blue 3D glasses.

At CES 2009, Asus unveiled the new Eee PC T91. The latest Eee model has a touch-sensitive, rotating display that you can spin 180 degrees and fold down, much like a tablet PC. The 8.9-inch display is also touch sensitive and works with a stylus or finger. The 2.1-pound T91 is powered by an Intel Z520 Atom processor and comes with a built-in TV tuner and GPS. The new Eee PC will be available around March 2009, and although pricing hasn’t been confirmed the unit will likely to be around $399. For individuals and business considering netbooks, the Eee PC T91 is one to watch.

The Lenovo ThinkPad W700ds is built on the standard 17″ ThinkPad W700, but has a slide-out 10.6″ display. Lenovo designed this desktop replacement for graphics professionals and CAD designers that need dual screens and a portable (although hefty) computer.

Working in IT is one of the world’s most challenging jobs — and not always in a good way. To build a strong IT department, IT leaders need to understand the problems of the profession so that they can take steps to keep morale and retention as high as possible. This episode Sanity Savers for IT executives discusses five of the worst things about working in IT and suggests ways that IT leaders can help to overcome them.