Sierra Corporation believes that it is always important to keep our clients in the forefront of technology, so in January, Sierra invested in new equipment for the deployment of the Exchange Server 2010.  We immediately began testing and debugging the hardware and software in order to assess its reliability and compatibility with our networks.  Sierra is proud to be a leader in providing the latest technology, even in these tough economic times.  Upon the completion of our testing, we plan to transfer our clients from Exchange Server 2007 to Exchange Server 2010.

Please use our Sierra Monitoring Agent to get immediate help with an issue. It is simple, fast, and takes little time! Your ticket is received immediately to all techs upon clicking the Send button. We will get back with you right away to troubleshoot your issue.

Directions: Please look along the bottom of your screen (taskbar) and you will see a small Sierra icon, please right-click on it and click on Support Ticket. Be sure that in the "From:" box is the correct email address. Type the "Subject:" and then enter text about the issue which needs troubleshooting. We will get back with you immediately.

http://www.sierracorporation.com/Monitoring.htm

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission will present a proposal in March that will require internet service providers to offer a broadband speed of up to 100 Mpbs to 100 million USA home users by 2010; the current estimated average speed is below 4 Mpbs.  The goal of the FCC is for the United States to have the largest market in the world of very high-speed Internet users.  A study in 2008 ranked the U.S. 19th in broadband speed behind Japan, Korea and France.  Approximately 35% of U.S. households currently do not have high speed Internet service according to a recent government survey.

Google recently announced that it will build and test an experimental high-speed fiber optic network that will provide 500,000 consumers with a speed of 1 gigabit per second by the beginning of next year.   Other internet service providers question whether the investment would pay off – would consumers want it and be willing to pay for it.  The FCC has commended Google on its initiative.

The FCC believes that their plan would help to create new jobs and economic growth.  Cisco Systems, Inc., provider of routers and switches for the Internet is also of the opinion that new high speed networks will create growth of the economy and jobs, as well as, improvement in health care, education and energy.

Ramble from SRA has been designed to allow Blackberry users to install and use AOL Instant Messenger on their devices. The Software is compatible with 4.0 or higher blackberry handheld software versions. It can be easily downloaded and installed either directly to the Blackberry handheld through SRA‘s site or installed through the computer using Blackberry Desktop Manager.  The benefit of using this particular instant messaging software vs. the AOL is that this will not be charged as text messages, as long as you have an unlimited data plan; this is because communication goes via your internet service not SMS.

Currently users with 5.0 handheld software on their Blackberry who are using Ramble can send and receive IMs, emails, and use the phone and web on their Blackberry all at the same time – though this feature may vary depending on service quality in a particular area.

AOL messenger can also be obtained through downloads offered my RIM through their blackberry.com website.

http://www.sra.com/ramble/download.php

Pandora is a new way to listen to the music you like online through your desktop or mobile device.  This radio functions by selecting music you enjoy from a cornucopia of music genres.  To experience Pandora, go to the Pandora site, create an account, and sign in to begin creating personal radio stations.  In order to create a radio station, click on create a new station and type in an artist, song title, or key word; in seconds, you will have your own personal radio station.

Also, Pandora has an option to send the station to your friends, add songs to your favorites list, or purchase the song(s) from Amazon or iTunes.  Pandora allows you to skip songs when listening, however, the only catch is that you can only skip songs six times per hour; yet one can evade the limitation by creating new stations.  There is also an option to select “Thumbs Up’ to have a particular song played more often or “Thumbs Down” to not have the song played again on that station.

Pandora provides applications from your mobile devices, so you can always listen to your favorite music from your Blackberry, iPhone, or Windows mobile phone.  To install Pandora to your mobile device, click on the tab named mobile (on the top of the page) and then choose the device you use.  You can then enter your phone number along with your carrier, which will send a download link to your device.  To connect your online account to your mobile device, you will need to enter the same email and password as you did online.  This will automatically connect your accounts and you will be set to listen to Pandora whenever and wherever you desire.

http://www.pandora.com