URGENT SECURITY ALERT: Apple iPhone, iPad, Mac

By Tom McDonald | Feb 23, 2014 5:15:00 PM

AVOID public wifi until you have performed the latest iOS update. Protect yourself from potential security issues aimed at Apple Mac, iPhone, iPad.  NSI Senior Support Consultant explains: 

"There isn't much buzz about it yet as it is mostly only the hacker/security community that knows of this today, but there was a MAJOR security vulnerability that was just made public that affects almost all apple devices.

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Using Do Not Disturb on your iPhone - Only get the calls you want

By Tom McDonald | Jul 23, 2013 11:28:00 AM

Dear Apple:  I only want my iPhone to ring if it’s important.

Apple:  Your wish has been granted.  I bring you:  Do Not Disturb

Personally, I do not take a lot of naps, but if I were to partake in what many experts refer to as “the best thing for productivity, ever” and snooze for a brief period of time during the day, I would certainly want a very select few individuals to be able to reach me -  no matter what. 

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K-12 Replace or Maintain Computers? Challenges of Technology in the Classroom

By Tom McDonald | Jun 12, 2013 3:48:00 PM

Replace, or Upgrade and Maintain?  One of the issues we encounter when we help our K-12 clients is the assessment and determination of academic and administrative computing needs when it comes to evaluating their replacement cycle.  What criteria should be used to determine if PC’s need to be upgraded vs. replaced? 

NSI agrees with IT Services at Stanford when it comes to general rule of thumb guidelines for replacing aging computers for use in education:

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K-12 School Series: TOP FIVE Tips for Summer IT Prep

By Tom McDonald | May 17, 2013 11:44:00 AM

Complete IT Support from Connecticut based NSI, serving CT and the Northeast Government, Education, and Small Business sectors since 1985 – What are the TOP FIVE things your IT staff should do to prepare IT resources for the summer?

As Connecticut Schools plan for the Smarter Balanced assessment test scheduled to roll out and replace Connecticut’s Mastery Test, and the Academic Performance Test during the 2014-2015 school year, IT preparedness and resource evaluation are key components for many district’s summer schedule.

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Android Phones Lead in Returns; Hardware Faults. Latest from NSI CT

By Tom McDonald | Jun 27, 2011 12:06:00 PM


A new yearlong study conducted by WDS, has found that Android devices are more likely to develop hardware problems than other brands of smartphones. This hasn’t been a huge surprise as Android has made a name for itself by bringing affordable smartphones to the masses on each network. Being Android is an open platform and is free to use by anyone, it is the ideal OS for lesser known cell phone manufactures who are want to release their first entry level phone. The unfortunate part of this is that these no name phones are bringing down the overall quality rating for android, which is something RIM and Apple can control as they develop their own hardware. The study does note that name brand Android phones, like HTC, Samsung, or Motorola, have much less returns due to hardware failure.

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