Happy Veteran's Day - Find a Vet, Buy him/her a drink and say thanks...

This is getting disturbing - fewer and fewer people, Americans, don't know the difference between, Memorial Day, Veteran's Day, December 7th, VJ Day, VE Day and the Fourth of July - we forget what happened on Monday, August 6, 1945 and again six days later (Google-itize it for God's sake).

How long until 911 and the Towers fall away - out of the American History text books - hell, do we still teach AMERICAN HISTORY???

Vietnam vets returned home to be spat upon.

Today, some of our fallen come home for their final rest, only to have their families assaulted by the likes of Code Pink and crazy, whacked-out, 6 person congregation, churches.

The F is wrong with this picture?

Because of what they, and generations before them did, we get the honor of being beaten down by goofy Purchasing Agents as we try to save the world with MPS.

Anyway - find a vet and tell him you remember.

'Nuff said...take it away, Kid...






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Who The Hell is Peter Sheahan and what does HE know about MPS?

Peter Sheahan: Keynote MPS Conference Barcelona from Misty Hamel on Vimeo.

I'll tell you who - this guy is from outside our industry, heck outside every industry - HE GETS MPS! MPS is 'anchored in the experience we've garnered to date...'

Somebody, and by 'somebody' I mean PHOTIZO, recognizes that MPS is not all that different from any other disruptive event; not specific to the imaging industry.

Outside perspective, it is not all about us - it’s all about me. (J/k)

I will miss Barcelona and will suffer for it.

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ConnectWise CEO tips hat to MPS: “build the modern office”

At the ConnectWise IT Nation Conference in Orlando, CEO Arnie Bellini talked about his vision.

Here, at the MSPmentor, are 15 points of Arinie's keynote.

Are You Looking For a Good Managed Print Services Provider? How Would you Tell?

Congratulations, you see that you can reduce the costs associated with printing by 30-40% - now what?

Nestled out here, are some very good MPS providers.

Behind the device manufacturers' flowery marketing and dense poser-like foliage, the real MPSr's are here.

Here holding true to customer-centric values - evangelizing MPS as a process not a collection of machines.

Your search is challenging.

Should you call your current IT VAR, have purchasing get with your office supplies vendor, or, god forbid, call the copier dealer who roped you in for 60 months?

Do you really want to be negotiated into an agreement?

How about product demo's or assessments worth exactly what you pay for them?

Honestly, should Purchasing, who is probably responsible for the 30-40% waste in the first place, be in charge of an MPS project? Really?

No - REALLY?

HP's Hurd - Wall Street Journal Timelines the Fall...

In an article by Rubert A. Guth, Ben Worthen and Justin Scheck, at WSJ.COM, new details of the Fall Of Hurd are exposed.(yes, the above is a picture of Jodie, Playboy, 1980)

Even though we are at the tailend of the escapade, the WSJ story is a great summary revolving around the letter sent to Hurd on behalf of Ms. Fisher, from her lawyer, the one and only, Gloria Allred.

Some felt the HP bent Mr. Hurd over, but the seriousness of the allegations apparently made the board stand up and notice.

Ms. Fisher claimed Mr. Hurd revealed to her, HP's intention to purchase EDS prior to publicly announcing - an obvious premature release.

Additionally, Mr. Hurd claims he and Ms. Fisher watched a Minnesota/Green Bay football game, first in the hotel bar and later together in his hotel room. Scurrying off at the "two minute warning."

Well, judging from this shot, she likes Texas, and everybody in Texas is a football fan - correct?

Wow.

The Faces of MPS? "continue...please, with your mockery..."

I have had this linked here for a few weeks now. 

To be honest, I find it a bit puzzling. People seem to like this kinda stuff, this banter. 

Ken is a great guy - one of the first and best - he is greatly involved over at Photizo working on the dealer channel program and contributes to the positive advancement of Managed Print Services, as an MPSA board member. 

 As for me, I am still scratching out an existence as an MPS Practice manager and scheming ways to move DOTC from PG-13 to R. For now, "continue...please, with your mockery..." 

 

Faces of MPS Media Part 3 from Photizo Group on Vimeo.

Faces of MPS Media (Part 2) from Photizo Group on Vimeo.

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Printer Bomb: An HP, Multi-function Device

A rather dry report from Reuters talks about the toner bomb without getting into too many details. 

By looking at the video, we in the business can tell a great deal. The toner cartridge was installed. The cell phone and other electronics as well as wiring, are contained within the HP LaserPrinter.

The powerful and hard-to-detect type of explosive known as PETN, the same substance used by AQAP in a failed plot to blow up a U.S.-bound passenger plane last Christmas Day, looks to be packed into the toner cartridge. (White substance) 

So basically, the explosive material was packed into the toner cartridge and wired into the timer, power source, and other detention electronics, bolted on somewhere in the printer. 

From the outside, the unit looks as tame as ever. As to how these bombs were detected, officials said the plot was discovered thanks to intelligence passed from Saudi Arabia. Without that tip, it's unclear whether anyone would have discovered the bombs before they were airborne — or on U.S. soil. Great, no high-tech solution here, just more heavy TSA petting before boarding. 

There is absolutely no doubt that HP had nothing to do with this, and is indeed a big victim here. 

DOTC, August 18, 2009, SEC Asked HP About Middle Eastern Dealings - Back in February 

DOTC, January 9, 2009, HP To Stop Selling in Iran - Power of The Press 

DOTC, December 29, 2008,  HP Printers Sold in Iran - The Unholly Alliance - 

Printer Bomb Plot from Matthew Cole on Vimeo.

Happy Halloween Edgar Allan Poe: The Raven (Narrated by Christopher Walken)

MPS, Terrorism and THIRD PARTY TONER: If by Third Party, You Mean "Manipulated"

10/2010

Somebody get Mulder and Scully out of retirement.

CNN:

"At least two U.S. airports were on high alert Friday after investigators found a suspicious package on a plane in the United Kingdom the night before, a law enforcement source with detailed knowledge of the investigation said."

The suspicious package, which contained a "manipulated" toner cartridge, tested negative for explosive material, the source said, but it led to a heightened inspection of arriving cargo flights in Newark, New Jersey, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and a UPS truck in New York.

Wow.

For over a year, I have been kicking around the idea of a novel - in this figment, I envision third-world Evil Doers tainting toner cartridges with a heat-activated, slow-burn, killer virus.

This contaminant, after melting on the surface, infects at the touch - talk about "the hidden cost of printing".

"White Toner"

Well, today, Stage 1 MPS has been dragged into the international spotlight.

Sorta.


News agencies are reporting a "manipulated toner cartridge" found on a UPS plane, contributed to elevating the threat level to "High" in the airline sector.

Reports are now saying no bomb was found in the US. (Of course not, but did they test for the infamous "White Toner Bug"???)

Reports say that indeed two explosive devices were found, one on a plane in London - disguised as a "toner cartridge". Here.


Police investigate iffy packages at N.J., Philly airports

Canon MDS Cuts Costs in Half

"Wait...that's not what I thought you meant by cutting..."

HP service takes toner direct to enterprise - Singapore, Melbourne and Perth

"The delivery and the implementation is done directly by HP, but we do take into account situations where there are value-added services from the reseller."

According to an article in CRN, here, HP is ratcheting up the "Enterprise" MES with managed supplies services (MSS).

First Canon, then Clip, then Toshiba, now this...

It's upside-down world.

--More--

HP To Offer Toshiba's to Enterprise Accounts - In Asia

More "strange bedfellows" news:

HP has formed an alliance with Toshiba as part of its managed print services (MPS) strategy.

At the HP Innovation Summit at Singapore, the vendor revealed that key high-volume MPS enterprise customers will have access to a select range of Toshiba multifunction devices.

HP already has a similar agreement with Canon announced last year.