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Welcome to French Creek Technology.  We can help you realize the potential of your business with cost effective solutions. We create and deploy the solutions that you need. With an array of Information Technology expertise we empower your business and personal needs. We get it, you are on the go, your need IT to go with you!

We help you invest in your infrastructure, so you don’t have wonder if it will scale.   The resiliency of your systems are only as stable as those who design it.  With over 50 years of business experience, enterprise technology leadership, project management, marketing experience, and process automation accomplishments we can help you focus on your dreams with confidence.

 

Building Access

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Have you been wrestling with the idea or need for door access control systems? Wondering what you should do? Seen some pretty fancy camera phones, but wish you had bigger eyes and ears on the front of your buildings? Explore a full-time surveillance camera system with network video recorder (NVR) and a VideoWall in you reception area. Couple that with a compatible telephone call box, and be in control.

I’ve enjoyed the licensing model, feature set, and abilities of the Panasonic Video Insight NVR and MonitorCast building access controls.

With four reception station, and five doors, setting up PBX hunt groups to telephone system integrated Viking Call boxes eases the distribution of visitor volume. Leveraging 43” TV’s to micro PC computers with Video Insight Video Wall every office maintains constant eyes in the entrances and the interior lobbies ensuring constant monitoring from every reception office of all entry areas. It works well, and surpasses the limitations of the dedicated door phones.

Build sound solutions for human interaction, avoid creating labor constraints that hit your bottom line harder when you really evaluate it.

Why is 13 the age of internet consent?

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So, you have children! Great job by the way. This, even without the Information Age is both your greatest accomplishment, and your toughest challenge! Just like you, I’ve permitted an amount of technology use since they were very young. Now in middle school it seems as the technology geek, I’m between two communities of parents. Those that want their kids to wait, even longer. A noble and honorable decision. And the others who have allowed their children on SnapChat, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, etc… all while falsifying their child’s age to do so. Oh you didn’t know you can’t creat an account unless your 13 or older? I’m guessing somehow that step got glossed over.

I genuinely want to allow some apps, like Spotify, Pandora, YouTube, Pinterest, Picasa, etc… but with the ideology of the environment like iCloud where their accounts a child accounts under my own account. Ideally with a construct that allows me to monitor and control activity. Guess what. We’re not a large enough consumer community for this to be a thing yet. That’s right. Google (the mother ship of YouTube) limits their best service Family Link to Android devices. Spotify still requires the family member to be 13 in their Family plan service.

For me it begged the question, why 13. As involved in IT as I am, I did not know why 13 was the proverbial cliff. Turns out, it’s the law…. sort of. WikiPedia has a good summary of COPPA. Check it out.

Hers the fun part: [content providers] “….. disallow children under 13 from using their services altogether due to the cost and work involved in complying with the law.”

The law, in short: “details … a website operator must …. protect children’s privacy and safety online … of those under 13.”

Now, this shouldn’t be a surprise, you know your being watched, facial recognized, tracked, and marketed to when your online. But this really cements the fact that the internet by and large doesn’t want “the cost and work involved in“ providing anyone with any privacy online. Remember that.

So, should you falsify your child’s age to get apps to work. Should you let them use your accounts? I suggest like other coveted experiences that are best saved for the appropriate age, the publicity of ones self on the internet is also best saved for a more appropriate age. Need help with that answer, try here.

However, technology community!! We’re parents, relatives, and genuinely decent humans that want our industry to be something positive for humanity. I therefore challenge every one of us to consider there is a user space between the current “Kids” apps age market (ie. YouTube Kids, Messenger Kids, etc…) and age 18 that is deserving of the “cost and work involved” to both provide access, and parental controls to it all. We cannot as completely teach our children discretion, time management, discernment, nor self-confidence in their digital world without parental tools. Knowing they will both be our future workforce, and civil leaders, we must assume the responsibility to reach the needs of parents with these services!

What’s your time worth?

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Netflix CEO once claimed his largest competitor was the human need for sleep. https://www.newsweek.com/netflix-binge-watch-sleep-deprivation-703029

I think there is an interesting conclusion that one can derive from this in many aspects of Life. We humans can often underestimate the value of time. Both the developers and marketing engines that create things that consume our time and command more or it aggressively. Then, more importantly our own recognition of the value of our time.

Think grocery couponing for a moment. Can you save enough money to justify the time it takes? What is an hour, or even 10 minutes of your time away from other aspects of life worth? How much do you make at work in an hour. How much do you really believe your worth? Are you paying yourself that much in the time you spend to save money?

What about your use of technology? Do you value the time that is inadvertently wasted with it? Sure, those notification email blasts are nice, and could offer benefits otherwise inaccessible. But, are those benefits as valuable as your time.

I suggest if they are not, UnSubscribe. You InBox is being overtaken with messages that are intentional intended to consume your time, and steal you away from interaction with others, purely for their selfish profitability. They don’t want to give you anything. They want more of you for themselves.

Take your time back. UnSubscribe ALL!

Delete Office365 Tenant

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A common security mistake is to not “cut up” your online “credit cards”. So often we just abandon digital assets not realizing that asset can get compromised and our identity as a result impersonated.

One example that Ive seen this happen is when Office365 tenants are merged, transferred, or otherwise decommissioned from productivity. We go through all the effort to build the new tenant, migrate the data, cancel the subscription, and in some cases we try to delete the tenant, but don’t see the option.

Truth is, deleting your tenant isn’t available in the Office Admin Center. You have to navigate to your domain in the Azure Admin Portal to finally delete your tenant. Unfortunately it can’t be done until 72 hours after you delete your subscription.

Microsoft recently updated the process and made it much easier.

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/active-directory/users-groups-roles/directory-delete-howto

Office Vulnerabilities on the rise!?

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As browser makers make it increasingly hard to exploit vulnerabilities in Adobe Flash and other plugins, hackers targeting diplomats in the Middle East tried a new approach this month: using Microsoft Office to remotely load Flash content that used a potent zero-day flaw to take control of computers…..

apple.news/AEJ2oQ5LfSF2xNjaTCSsXpw

WiFi Mesh Standard

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I would say this a similar milestone to the adoption of MiMo in the 802.11 standards. I have implemented Mesh in several homes, small and large not as much for coverage demand, but density demand. I personally still prefer hard true wired access points, but sometimes Mesh is more cost effective. And if it goes standard, you could EasyMesh an off the shelf Access Point with your ISP provided wireless router.

apple.news/ACbysKaTNTGuKEPgKuL9jlA

Residential Fixed Wireless

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I am embarking on a mission to bring better internet services to rural PA in our Northwestern region. It is clear that there is an opportunity, and dedicated willing parties, but there is a legal gap needing bridged to get the ball to the other side. This will take at least months, but I remain optimistic of the result. The days of no options need to end. For our small businesses, our students, and for every resident with a willingness to get connected and further their opportunities no matter what they are!

Support Northwest PA Businesses

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With an impromptu invitation I attended a business networking event at RoadHouse 698 and “pitched”, for the first time ever, French Creek Technologies to a room filled with spirited and passionate entrepreneurs and trailblazers. It was great to see the energy and enthusiasm each individual shared for their story, passion, and visions. The success in the room was ripe, and the support for one another was galvanizing for everyone.

The evening was an affirmation for me that when I choose to commit myself to my consulting business more full time, the opportunity is fertile. The goodness of people in leadership roles is profound, and the thrill of working with extraordinary people very well may be everlasting!

Sadly, I had to check out promptly, rather than sick around and learn more about these amazing individuals I had just met. I had no idea what to expect nor realize it would run as late as it did, and I had to get back home.

Thank you Daniel J Smith Photography for the nudge! To learn more about Support NWPA Businesses visit them online of on Facebook Support-NWPA-Business.

Jeff Smith, Career Focus, Erie Times News

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Jeff Smith, Career Focus, Erie Times News

Recently Jeff Smith, of Erie County Technical School and French Creek Technology was spotlighted in the Erie Times News, Information Technology Career Focus, compliments of CareerStreet.

“Directly out of Cambridge Springs Senior High School, Smith served in the United States Navy as an electronics technician for six years. While serving, he received a Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal for deploying a computer network. At that time, the Navy did not have a strategy for computer networks … full article”.