New iMacs on sale on November 30th!

Apple announced this morning that their newest iMac units will be available for purchase on Friday, November 30.  Both units, the 21.5" and 27" will start shipping in December it seems.

You can read their news blurb here, or just see some tech specs below.  The new units look good, but don't expect that to come cheaply.  I do not have word yet on our product count for this, but being the #1 reseller of Apple products in the US, I'm awfully sure that PCMall will have a lot of these available. :)

Redesigned from the inside out, the new iMac packs high performance technology into an aluminum and glass enclosure that measures just 5 mm thin at its edge and features a reengineered display that reduces reflection by 75 percent. The new iMac includes 8GB of 1600 MHz memory, a 1TB hard drive, third generation quad-core Intel Core i5 processors that can be upgraded to Core i7, and the latest NVIDIA GeForce graphics processors that deliver up to 60 percent faster performance. Fusion Drive is an innovative new storage option that gives customers the performance of flash and the capacity of a hard drive by combining 128GB of flash with a standard hard drive to create a single storage volume that intelligently manages files to optimize read and write performance.

The 21.5-inch iMac is available with a 2.7 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.2 GHz and NVIDIA GeForce GT 640M for a suggested retail price of $1,299 (US); and with a 2.9 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.6 GHz and NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M for a suggested retail price of $1,499 (US). The 27-inch iMac is available with a 2.9 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.6 GHz and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660M for a suggested retail price of $1,799 (US); and with a 3.2 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.6 GHz and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675MX for a suggested retail price of $1,999 (US).

 

Remember, Apple makes great hardware for Windows! :)

(For those that say I'm biased...I am...mostly for humor, but I won't hide it.  Most importantly, if you like it, and it works for you...use it. :) )

There you have it...have a great day! :)

 

Cyber Monday Strikes Back

At times, in the SMB consulting business, we are approached by friends and family at this time of year about deals and bargains.  I've seen many a salesperson shy away like Luke crawling away from Vader in Cloud City.  Like this would be a bad thing?  I help someone, they refer me.  You never know who you're going to find right? :)

Those of you who know me know that I'm not a "doorbuster" kind of person.  In reality, if you have to trick people to buy your products, you're only hurting them and yourself in the long run.  Are my prices higher than my competitor?  In some cases yes, and some cases no.  So today was some folks asking about what amazing deals were available, and most often I would say, "When do I not give you a good deal?" :)

So, for those of you who missed last week...make sure and go and read about how gigantic Cisco bought little Meraki for $1.26 billion dollars, and is giving them the red carpet treatment.  Also for those who are experimenting with Windows 8, first, good for you for not being afraid of it (or teaching co workers not to be afraid...), second...did you know that they are embedding license codes in the BIOS?   Chant with me, no more stickers, no more stickers, no more stickers!

It's truly been an interesting day.  :)

 

Peace!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from your Dragontech Team! :)

I know we've not written a lot over the past couple weeks.  Holiday months like this are killer in our line of business, so we've had to lay off here to make sure to meet our job requirements.  Cyber Monday is coming...and a good time to put in all those requests you've got piling up. :)

If you do have any needs, we're here until 5pm today!  Lastly, if we don't speak to you before Thanksgiving, please take care, be safe, and enjoy your time with family & friends.

Best Wishes!

Meraki's big step into a larger world...

When I woke up this morning and saw the news...I can't say I was surprised.  A lot of folks that I work with were, and some understood what was going on, others just liked to jab at me because I'm not a Cisco fan.  But yes, today Cisco announced their intent to purchase Meraki for 1.26 BILLION dollars.  Yes, BILLION.  The good thing is, this is being done not to shut down competition, not to turn them into a clone of what Cisco was offering...but a chance to actually grow Cisco into a place where they were struggling to get into properly.

Meraki built up the notion of Cloud-Based Networking.  There really wasn't much of anything related to it until they came onto the scene and stood out like Andre the Giant in a subway station.  Gartner recognized them, channel partners worked with & promoted them, and clients saw their work drop and productivity increase.  Their year over year growth was stunning...and I still think they're going to explode out of the windows of their office, much like this. :)

SO it makes sense that Cisco wants them, and not only that, but wants them to REMAIN being Meraki.  Finding that amazing new talent, building a sales culture that makes sure everyone wins, innovating products daily...so much so that to stifle them would be a waste of Cisco's investment.   Heck, the people I know at Meraki are friends...not just co-workers or a partner...friends who I'd take a bullet for.  We've grown together...inspiring each other and making real magic.

Do I see this as the end of that magic?  No.  Harry Potter just graduated from Hogwarts to the Real World...watch out.  That's a mean Expelliarmus charm. ;)

So for those of you who are worried or concerned, stop.   It's good.  Working a deal with us for their product?  Keep on...though I would suggest buying the longest term contract possible (1, 3, 5, 7, and 10 years are available)...because we're here to still work with them and help them deliver the best experience possible.

I never thought I'd say this, but Thank You Cisco.  Thank you for investing in the future of our business.

SQUIRREL!

Dragontech Deals updated!

All aboard for Dragontech's Deals pages's new update!  We've got  some HP and Meraki deals!  Take a look!!!



 

Nothing's certain but software licensing and taxes...

Hello illustrious readers!

Now that reality is back on track after 9 months of election stuff, I wanted to address something very important to all business.  Software licensing and tax liability.  While I am not a tax expert and cannot give you tax advice, I can speak to how things work on our end.

First, in California (and some other states) if you purchase software licensing without media/discs, you are not taxed on that order with the company you purchase it from.  However, if you do purchase it with media, you are liable for sales tax across the entire order, not just tax on the media.  It is worth noting that if  you've bought software licensing this year with media and you didn't pay tax on the entire order, the state will come calling to collect.  Also, for those of us who like to think we’re tricky, you can’t order software on one order and the media on another one…that’ll be seen right through during the audit on the company you bought from, and you’ll be held liable for all of the tax on both the software and the media.

Best solution?  Buy your software licenses without media.  Nearly every company that provides licensing, also provides a secure site for downloading the software for it.  Not only that, you can burn yourself as many copies as you need!  While cases might differ from VAR to VAR, you need to keep an eye on your bottom line, so you aren't hit with unexpected charges. :)

So why take a hit on what you don’t need to be taxed on?  I think you’ll be pleasantly happy if you follow our suggestions!  If you have any questions, you're welcome to drop us a line on our contact page.  Thank you!

Happy Back to Sanity Day! :)

Windows 8 for Dummies...

Not that any of you are...but these books are truly helpful, and if you've used them, you know.

While I disagree with fellow blogger Rick Broida over on CNet, in that Windows 8 is a good OS, and has a lot of potential, he has a short valid article on this free book being offered by the folks at Dell.  (IF you can get past the snark that makes my irritations with Apple's shenanigans look like a mosquito bite.)

Give Dell some nuggets of marketing info and get the free book.  Totally worth it. :)