Greetings – I hope everyone is enjoying the weather!

A couple of quick notes:

Swine Flu imminent
The World Health Organization has just raised their pandemic alert level to 5, meaning widespread Swine Flu is imminent.  The jury is still out on how serious of an illness this is, but there’s a very good chance many people will not be going to work next week.

If you think you might be stuck at home next week, it is important that you try out your remote access methods as soon as possible (like tonight!). Just because you connected to work because you were stranded in the snow in December/January doesn’t mean it still works the exact same way!  If you have questions or problems getting into your corporate network, please let us know.

Internet Explorer 8 – DO NOT INSTALL!
On a completely different frustrating note, Microsoft recently marked Internet Explorer 8 as an “Important” update when visiting their Windows Update or Microsoft Update websites.  Nothing could be further from the truth–while Internet Explorer 8 has some nice new features it specifically breaks a lot of business software.

Worse, it’s extremely difficult to remove Internet Explorer 8 from a machine once it has been installed (the Add/Remove programs route does not work!)  So even though we constantly remind people to keep up to date with their Windows Updates, this is one update we think you should pass on – for now, at least.  Here’s hoping Microsoft and independent software developers come to a consensus on how Internet Explorer 8 is supposed to work with their applications soon so we can enjoy the new browser’s features.

Regardless of what happens next week, we will be available to help with remote access requests.  Please call 206-329-6600 and select option 1 for support, or e-mail support@bdpnetworks.com.

Thanks for your time as always,

-Brian

Filed under: general