Welcome Thomas Baker

We are proud to introduce the newest edition to our B.I.T.S. team, Mr. Thomas Baker.  Thomas joined our team in June of 2016 and brings a range of new skills to the team.  He has a background in Web Technologies and has helped to expand our service offerings to include Web Site Design and Hosting.  Thomas holds a Sales and Technical Support Certification for cPanel, the #1 Web Hosting Control Panel in use today.  Thomas is a recent graduate from WVU Tech in Montgomery, and holds a B. S. in Information Systems and a minor in Business Administration.  As part of his senior graduation requirements Thomas and his partner developed a Sandwich Ordering System for the Bear’s Den, an on-campus sandwich shop.  The system provides a website that can be accessed from a mobile device or computer and allows you to place an order for a sandwich and provide a pickup time.  The order prints out at the Bear’s Den where the staff can queue the sandwich order up and have it ready to purchase when you arrive.  The Sandwich Ordering System is still in use by the Bear’s Den, even after Thomas and his partner have graduated.  The project was so well-received that it has been featured in the WVU Tech Alumni Magazine, BearTracks, which can be viewed here:  http://www.wvutech.edu/magazine.

In addition to working at Jacobs & Company B.I.T.S. and graduating from WVU Tech, Thomas started his own Web Hosting business – AMG Network Hosting – as a hobby in 2009, while still in high school.  AMGNH hosts sites and cloud services for over 300 customers from around the world through partnerships with accredited datacenters.  In addition to starting this company, Thomas has four additional volunteer employees who give their time to AMGNH.  Thomas also partners with Harrison County Business Education programs to provide Website Hosting to all of their Web Site Publication Classes – at no cost.

Originally from the Clarksburg/Bridgeport area, Thomas lived off-campus in Montgomery while attending school.  He and his girlfriend Jasmine recently moved from Montgomery to Charleston and are enjoying living on Charleston’s East End.  They have a family of pets who are also enjoying their new home in Charleston.  These pets include cats, dogs, hamsters, and lizards.  Thomas also recently became a Notary and when asked why he replies, “Because it was something I wanted to do so I went out and did it.”

iPhone 7 and iOS 10

It may not come as a shock to most people at this point, but Apple, Inc. has just released a new model to their iPhone line-up. On what has become Apple’s annual special event to announce the latest iPhone every September, the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus have been announcing with an availability and shipping date of September 16th. Not only was the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus announced, but they also announced a new release of their cutting edge iOS operating system, iOS 10.

The Specs:

With the latest release of the iPhone 7, we are starting to see processing power equal to that of desktop or laptop computers just a few short years ago available in the palm of your hand. With the iPhone 7 it is no surprise that the processing power has increased yet again. Apple’s announcement of the A10 CPU for both models of the iPhone 7 debuted their first mobile quad core CPU ever. This being said, it is still common today to find many workstation and desktop computers running on a single dual core CPU.

For those of you who follow Apple’s annual events and announcements, you know that it really wouldn’t be an Apple Party without there being “one more thing.” This of course means the latest iOS, Apple’s operating system for mobile phones and tablets. With too many features to list, iOS 10 is perhaps Apple’s greatest advance to make Siri, your iPhone’s personal assistant your best friend. Apple has announced that application developers can now integrate Siri with their own applications. This was something before only available to apps developed by Apple. This was not only a nice surprise now, but as more developers begin to integrate with Siri, your life with any Apple device running iOS 10 may just get a lot easier.

Behind the Clouds

It is no secret that over the past several years moving data to “The Cloud” is an industry trend that is gaining a lot of publicity.  But what exactly is “The Cloud?” The answer isn’t as simple as you may think. The Cloud isn’t one set place or thing.

Simply put, “The Cloud” is a term used to describe the place where you move your data and servers so they are no longer in your office. Essentially, you are moving everything somewhere else to be accessed via the internet from your office.

Where is “The Cloud?” This, too, is not an easy answer, because “The Cloud” is almost everywhere. Essentially, you can host your data from a separate office and it can be considered in “The Cloud.”  This is also known as a “Private Cloud.”  Your data is in “The Cloud” anytime it is not located in the same building or on the same network as your computer or anytime you have to use the internet to access it.

However, the more common definition is that “The Cloud” is any datacenter that hosts your information and manages the hardware for you, reducing your workload when it comes to IT management. There are many “Cloud” providers and almost every datacenter offers some form of cloud services, as do many IT providers.

“Should I move my services to “The Cloud?” This question is a very common one that gets asked often, and it truly depends on your unique situation. There are many advantages to moving to “The Cloud,” but also disadvantages in some cases. To truly know if you should move your data to “The Cloud,” you need to consult with your IT provider, who has the knowledge and expertise to break down the pros and cons of moving your data to “The Cloud” and be able to help you make that transition, should you choose to do so.

Why is SSL Becoming a Necessity?

What is an SSL certificate? An SSL Certificate or Secure Socket Layer certificate is a way of securing a connection to a website to prevent eavesdroppers from collecting and stealing the personal information you give to a website. Many people know this certification as the https:// at the beginning of a website’s address.

For years, most website visitors and webmasters alike have viewed an SSL certificate as something only ecommerce sites needed. Now, this field is changing as a major movement is in progress to make a more secure internet by requiring that all websites have SSL certificates. With the growing market of free WiFi hotspots almost everywhere you go, you want anything you do and send online to be secure. Being able to see other people’s personal information from any website is something anyone can do without much work at any public hotspot, if the users are using unsecured connections to websites. This alone is enough for every website viewer to want to be able to visit their favorite sites over a secure connection and encourage webmasters to start implementing SSL on their websites.

Current websites are already being penalized if they are not using an SSL certificate.  Starting in 2014, Google started taking into account whether or not your website has an SSL certificate into the ranking procedure for your website to appear in search results. This means that if you are not using SSL on your website and your competition does they are gaining an edge on your online searchers. Google and other organizations are now taking this even further by planning on making active warnings whenever users come across a non-secure website in their browsers. These warnings could potentially scare off some viewers who just see a warning and decide to leave the website. The Internet Engineering Task Force has even gone as far as approving new standards, called HTTP/2, that will become the new norm over the next few years for website traffic and require that all sites have an SSL certificate in order to be reached by future browser versions.

So, if some of this implementation still hasn’t happened why should you care? Already, many people look for a secure site when submitting anything on the web, and there is a chance if you don’t have an SSL that you have lost at least one customer. By getting an SSL certificate for your website now you are preparing for the future, as SSL certificates will be required to be on all websites. The cost for SSL certificates is extremely inexpensive and come in many varieties from a basic website encryption all the way up to extend validation certificates that prove to your web viewers that you are a government registered company. If you are ready to hop on board and get an SSL certificate for your website, give us a call and we will help you not only purchase the SSL certificate that is right for you but help you install it, as well.