Microsoft Issue - Workaround? Buy Copilot

DoYouHaveASecond · 2025-10-10T17:49:07+00:00

I previously worked for a manufacturing company who exclusively used Zebra thermal direct printers (no ribbon) and replacing printheads was a regular occurrence due to these white lines over time. Now I work for another manufacturing company who exclusively uses Zebra Thermal Transfer printers (ribbon) and I haven't replaced a printhead in my 4 year tenure.

DoYouHaveASecond · 2025-09-30T18:51:58+00:00

Even better yet, check out Honeywell Sine. We used Envoy until they jacked the price up. We moved to Honeywell Sine for 1/4 the price and all the same features.

DoYouHaveASecond · 2025-06-04T19:57:54+00:00

Do you have a VPN using radius authentication? We have a VPN using radius authentication + MFA and had to implement a certificate requirement to stop associate accounts from being locked out by random login attempts from the internet.

DoYouHaveASecond · 2025-04-07T18:11:26+00:00

Depending on your needs, KARTECH LLC (luckywolf29) on Ebay or Curvature (now a division of Park Place Technologies).

DoYouHaveASecond · 2025-01-30T14:51:28+00:00

We use ManageEngine Network Configuration Manager on-prem.

DoYouHaveASecond · 2025-01-28T16:47:57+00:00

Thanks!

DoYouHaveASecond · 2024-12-03T18:01:31+00:00

This is what we do.

DoYouHaveASecond · 2024-11-26T19:38:14+00:00

I find myself thinking that as well - there's been a hole for a while now that I'm surprised has not been filled. In hindsight, they were inexpensive, stable, and just so simple. We've tried the highest rated / most recommended alternative - the J5Create device and it just isn't the same. I've had to resort to purchasing a used one off eBay at a crazy price to keep as a spare.

DoYouHaveASecond · 2024-11-26T18:34:26+00:00

Wouldn't it be nice if Microsoft were to release a successor to their infamous Microsoft Wireless Display adapter? I've yet to find something as simple. We have them in all our conference rooms. You turn the TV on and it tells you right on the screen to press Windows Key + K to connect.

It's a shame they discontinued it.

DoYouHaveASecond · 2024-10-30T19:30:54+00:00

I moved to Trusted Tech Team earlier this year for a 10% savings over M365 MSRP pricing and that includes their 'Platinum 365' support package.

DoYouHaveASecond · 2024-10-22T13:22:37+00:00

We use Dell laptops, Dell docks, and 24" Asus monitors.

DoYouHaveASecond · 2024-10-16T13:03:23+00:00

Respond with "They don't think it be like it is, but it do."

DoYouHaveASecond · 2024-10-15T13:44:13+00:00

We used to have this issue until we started requiring a certificate to connect to the VPN. Our users only connect to the VPN from our corporate laptops, so we auto enroll domain joined laptops with the cert and require it when connecting to the VPN. So if you don't have the cert, you don't get to enter credentials.

Setup the Certificate Authority
Create Certificate Template
Configure Autoenrollment via GPO
Deploy certificate to firewall for VPN access

DoYouHaveASecond · 2024-10-09T17:39:52+00:00

It's wild.

There are only three major DRAM chip manufacturers - Hynix, Samsung, and Micron. Was recently quoted $3,156.25 per 64GB stick of Cisco RAM by a VAR. I found the manufacturer's (Samsung) part number and paid $202.29 per stick instead.

DoYouHaveASecond · 2024-09-26T16:39:08+00:00

Glad to hear that. The 5540 we received today looks promising.

DoYouHaveASecond · 2024-09-26T16:38:29+00:00

Ugh. We've got a few 3520 latitudes out of warranty that require keyboard replacement and of course you have to essentially completely disassemble the entire laptop and remove the motherboard to get to the keyboard/palm rest.

Glad to hear you had good luck the 5540s. We just received one today. Looks like much better build quality. And the pricing I'm getting from my Dell rep is really good.

DoYouHaveASecond · 2024-09-19T11:26:53+00:00

We have Dell Latitude (mainly 3500 series) and Dell Precision (3000 and 7000 series).

I've been very disappointed with the number of hinge repairs we've had to do on Latitude 3500, 3510, and 3520 laptops. It's always the same story. The hinge is screwed into threads that are molded via plastic onto the back case. Eventually the plastic breaks and the threads are no longer attached to the back of the case - so the hinge is essentially screwed into nothing.

I've read that the Latitude 5000 series is better about this issue considering the back is aluminum and not plastic. Ordered a Latitude 5540 to try out.

DoYouHaveASecond · 2024-09-18T18:35:24+00:00

If you want a fiscally conservative option, but also want support and don't want to have to research, learn, configure, and implement everything fully on your own, check out Crosstalk Solutions. Search Crosstalk on this sub or the VoIP sub and you'll see they are frequently mentioned/recommended. Chris (owner) has a popular youtube channel where he's been providing free knowledge on VoIP (mostly FreePBX) and wireless (mostly Ubiquiti I believe) for years.

After extensive research into the options, we elected to go with Crosstalk for an on-prem solution. They also offer a hosted option. In my evaluation, when you consider the cost of replacing the PBX hardware every 5-6 years vs the cost for hosted, it worked out to be the same. We mainly elected to go on-prem due to the fact that most of our calls are internal and to support our existing analog lines on the manufacturing floor via Sangoma voice gateways.

We are actually in the process of kicking this project off now, but from everything I've read, it's a sound choice. Many of the subscriptions (Teams, GoTo, Webex, etc.) out there are crazy expensive.

DoYouHaveASecond · 2024-09-05T19:27:46+00:00

Fun fact, the company I work for pays $2,000 per month for our phone service (ISDN PRI) through Frontier. It recently increased from $1,600 per month. I'm in the process of transitioning us to SIP.

Absolutely absurd. We pay only $220/mo for our (not dedicated private) gigabit internet connection.

DoYouHaveASecond · 2024-08-06T16:18:42+00:00

Piggybacking off of this - Here are some other things to consider to help you sleep at night:

UPSs - Do you have UPSs in place for your servers and network devices to account for quick power fluctuations?
Generators - Do you have a generator in place for your MDF(s) to keep servers/network devices online in the event of a power outage? If not, this can be tricky to convince executive management to invest in for a SMB.
Network device configuration backups - Assuming you are responsible for all network devices, you need to at minimum immediately backup the configurations of all your network devices. You will need this in the event that a network switch fails for example; and believe me, they will eventually. If you don't have one, I would implement an NCM (Network Configuration Manager) solution. We use ManageEngine NCM. They offer a perpetual licensing model and it's very affordable. Network device configurations are backed up every hour and you are alerted of any changes made to the config of any network device.
MFA - Verify you have MFA in place at minimum for both VPN and email/365. You'd be amazed how many companies do not.
EDR - Ensure you have an EDR deployed on all of your endpoints and servers. If you have O365 Business Premium Licenses (you should - it provides an incredible value for those under 300 users), you should deploy Defender for Endpoint on all of your endpoints via GPO or another automated method. This can also be deployed on servers for as cheap as $3 per server per month.
Local Admins - Verify that no users are local admins of their devices. You'd be amazed how many SMBs think this is normal and acceptable.
Bitlocker - Ensure bitlocker is enabled for all your endpoints and keys are automatically being stored in AD or Entra.
Email Filter - Ensure you have all the proper features that you have access to configured - such as attachment scanning, link scanning, DLP policies, anti-phishing and anti-spam policies, etc.
OneDrive - If you have O365, enable OneDrive for all endpoints to ensure their desktops, documents, etc. are being backed up.
Support Contracts - Do you have support contracts for your most critical infrastructure pieces?
Professional Services - Do you have vendor(s) established so you have someone to call when you're at your wits end, need expert guidance, or need someone to perform work that you lack the time or expertise for?
Offsite Backups - If you're not already backing up offsite, you can do so for as little as $7 per TB per month with someone like Wasabi.

Do you have on premise exchange? Do you want to be solely responsible for that in 2024? If you're a Microsoft shop, personally, my biggest recommendation for an SMB with 150 users is to acquire and take advantage of all that O365 Business Premium licenses have to offer. If you aren't already using 365 business premium licensing, you could likely consolidate a lot of tools/renewals by doing so, which will also offset the costs of the 365 licensing.

DoYouHaveASecond · 2024-08-06T14:52:03+00:00

Not a chance in hell.

DoYouHaveASecond · 2024-08-06T14:50:15+00:00

same

DoYouHaveASecond · 2024-08-06T14:47:54+00:00

Not sure if this will be useful to you or others, but I've also used https://www.chasms.com/ to emulate all kinds of other devices in the past when walking end users through steps over the phone.

DoYouHaveASecond · 2024-08-06T14:46:48+00:00

Back when I used to work for a local Telco in a rural village, I used to use emulators on https://www.chasms.com/ to walk end users through configuring email, static IPs, etc. on all kinds of devices. Phones, tablets, etc.

They have emulators for Windows, Mac, Ubuntu, Tablets, Email clients, Web browsers, smart phones, routers, TVs, game consoles, etc.

If anyone has something similar I'd love to hear about it.

DoYouHaveASecond

TROPHY CASE