Hoping that you’re back into the swing of things after the holidays and that you’ve been able to deal with a full week in the office, for the first time in at least a couple of weeks. Things have been busy here at Ashton Solutions, with our engineers working on various diligence projects and technology audits, as well as the usual firewall installations, PC setups, and daily customer support. The other Jim and I are headed west in the next couple of weeks to remind the mergers and acquisitions world of the importance of technology diligence during a transaction, and there’s always the hunt for more new business (if you know of anybody who’s tired of technology that doesn’t work, I’d love to speak with them).
Outside of work, I’ve been enjoying the snow and cold, but my new ice plunge tub is frozen solid. I was able to break through the ice a couple of times early in this cold spell, but now I’m waiting to get above freezing so I can get back in. That means more time spent watching college football (big game tonight) and hockey. And last weekend, we blew through two seasons of Lioness, another Taylor Sheridan series. Strongly recommend a subscription to Paramount + so you can watch that and his other shows (Landman is another winner).
Anyway, on to what you’re here for… in this case, Girl Scout cookies, electric skis, Y2K, Liquid Paper, and more!
Something about ...
Cookies and Pizza
January is always a big time for dieters, right? So we’ll start this week’s edition with a couple of stories on food. First off, the Girl Scouts are doing away with two cookies- S’more and Toast-Yay (neither of which I’ve ever heard of), and considering a possible price increase.
More interesting is this video of a day in the top pizza shop in NYC. Definitely one we’ll have to hit next time we’re out that way. And who knew all that went into making the dough?!?!
Y2K
Remember back in 1999 when everybody (or so it seemed) thought the world would come to an end when calendars hit 2000 and systems that weren’t programmed with four digit years (2000, as opposed to 00) would cease to run? We’d run out of food and money couldn’t be withdrawn from ATMs… And then on Dec. 31, the clock struck midnight and nothing changed. (But Lehman’s hardware store down in Amish country was making national news due to the huge business they were doing).
Consumer Electronics
The annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) has been taking place in Las Vegas, and while that stuff is usually of no interest to me, I have gotten a couple of articles through my inbox this week. Some interesting new items on the market including an AI powered reader for childrens’ books (for those parents who don’t want to spend time with their kids), e-paper digital art (that’s a pretty cool idea), and a sound-bubble creating headset, to electric skis (for those who want to look like they’re exercising but really aren’t?) and needleless injections.
End of Win10
Here’s yet another reminder that Windows 10 will reach its “end of life” in October of this year. Somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 of all Windows devices globally still run on this platform. And yes, you’ll still be able to pay for annual, but you’re putting yourself at greater risk, while also using a device that is well beyond it’s reasonable life span. If you’re an Ashton client, we’ve already reached out to discuss options, but many of the tools we use (Sophos endpoint security, for example) may not even run on Windows 10 any longer, come October. In that case, your only option is a new device. So, start budgeting now.
Liquid Paper
I’m sure that many of you, if you close your eyes and think back to middle school or high school, can still remember the smell of Liquid Paper. Not the kind that came in a tape-like dispenser, but the real stuff in a bottle. You probably never stopped to wonder who invented it or how they grew it into such a big business with knockoffs like Wite Out (which never worked as well as the real stuff).
HIPAA and Cyber
While we don’t provide compliance audits (we outsource those), we do provide the remediation that is deemed necessary. And our team has always referred to HIPAA as a ‘moving target’. New HIPAA cybersecurity requirements will be out in 2025 (the draft document is currently 400 pages), but many already realize that the costs to comply will be beyond the means of many providers.
That’s all for this week. I’ll leave you with what may be a world record for surfing big waves and a bunch of 18 and 19 year old kids who are now World Champs, thanks to the USA OT win over Finland in the World Junior Hockey Championships, last weekend.
Have a great weekend, and Go Bucks!
Abbey