Howdy do, TurnKey Lovers?

How long has it been? It feels like it has been a few years. I was actually supposed to write to you guys and ladies last week, but I wasn’t feeling inspired. I didn’t want to just write any ol’ thing for you, and have it not be the top-notch blogging that you’ve come to expect from me. Was that last one a little too much? Sorry, I’m still working out the blogging jitters.

So, as I already mentioned, I was having a bit of a hard time coming up with something to write about for you. Co-workers have made suggestions, with FTP being one of them, but sadly, none of this got me riled up to chat with ya for a bit. Well, the other night as I was about to fall asleep, the idea hit me: the environment and Parkour. You may be saying to yourself, “Huh? How does that have anything to do with TurnKey Internet?” Well my friends, I will explain it to you.

You see, about two and a half years ago, I started this EPIC journey called Parkour. Now, you may not be familiar with the word Parkour, as some refer to it as “freerunning”, “tricking”, or even just “jumping around”. I like to refer to it as a path to improving ones belief in one’s self through playful activities outside or in a gym. For a more straight-forward definition, Parkour is getting from point A to point B in the most efficient way possible. It can be learned by anyone and everyone, and you only need a pair of sneakers to start. Right now it sounds like I’m writing an article purely advocating Parkour, but stay with me. It will all tie in.

Around the same time I started Parkour, I started working at TurnKey Internet. When I think back, if it wasn’t for Parkour, I probably wouldn’t have even started at TurnKey Internet or progressed so far. Stop, Jeremy, you’re getting off-topic. Ah yes, when I first started Parkour and began working at TurnKey Internet, things were very different. I could barely do a pull-up outside and could barely understand all the inner nuances that make up a IT solutions provider. Well, just like with my training, things kept improving. Soon enough, I could do 8 pull-ups straight and could provision a server from start to finish with no outside assistance.

The team–TurnKey Internet–was still colocating with Time Warner when I came on board, but now we have our very own data center that we built from scratch. We progressed forward, gaining bits of knowledge along the way. We progressed so far that, as of recently, we are no longer using gas to help power the data center. We’re now 100% running off renewable resources. That’s a hugeeee accomplishment for a data center in this day and age. Not only are we helping to reduce our carbon footprint, but we’re also incorporating new technologies.

For someone who loves to play outside, I’m all for working somewhere that helps to ensure that we have a great place to live, work, and play in the future.

This is quite a fascinating time, to say the least. On top of everything else, we’re now ENERGY STAR certified. I can’t say I can name any other public data centers off the top of my head that can make that claim. Sure, they might exist, but as of right now, I personally only know of TurnKey. You see, I started this article mentioning my love for Parkour and how has been attached to my progress at TurnKey. The best thing that I have learned from Parkour, which helps me every day at TurnKey is that progress is progress. Whether it’s a small step today or a large step, progress is progress.

When I first started, TurnKey was co-locating and now we have our very own, very GREEN data center. Needless to say, I’m quite proud of that progress and it is no small feat.

Until next time, TurnKey lovers

First things first, I do not consider myself a “car guy” whatsoever. I don’t know if Porsche is really pronounced “porsh” or “porsh-a”, I have no idea where Lexuses are manufactured, and I couldn’t tell you what’s under the hood of my dear Subaru that I named “Seabiscuit.” In fact, now that I think about it, I may even be overdue for an oil change…

However, here at TurnKey Internet, we are all about speed and keeping things green and sustainable. That is why I’d like to share some electric cars that are not only stylish, but easy on the environment, crazy-fast, and make me think that the future has arrived!

Now, let’s start with something basic…

The Chevy Volt was officially released in 2011. It may not be the coolest-looking in this bunch, but it’s probably the most affordable. The first one was placed in the General Motors Heritage Center for display, but the second one was auctioned off for $250,000. This money went to help fund math and science programs for Detroit public schools, which is absolutely worth mentioning and very stylish in its own way! The 2013 model will be out this August, and priced at around $40,000.

This next one is pretty darn cool-looking, but probably not the most efficient… and you won’t be able to get your hands on one until 2014. Feast your eyes on the Infiniti Emerg-E Concept—0-60 MPH in 4 seconds, but after 30 miles, be ready to pull over for another charge.

Next, we have the Fisker! While, style-wise, it might be one of my favorites, word has it that they have been cutting some jobs lately, and are supposedly close to going bankrupt. Regardless, here is the Fisker Karma. I wonder what could have brought them to bankruptcy!

A prime competitor of Fisker (if they survive) is a company by the name of Tesla. After ending the Roadster’s production in 2012, Tesla released the Model S. This car can get you 180 miles to 300 miles per charge, depending on the battery. The starting price for one of these bad boys is right around $95,000, and can easily exceed $100,000—but, hey… it costs around $650 to charge it for an entire year!

While I like the old Roadster better, the Model S has a weird, generic car “look”. It’s kind of like a Nissan Altima, if it got with Aston Martin and made a 4-wheeled love-child. In other words, it’s definitely classy-looking, but I’m not quite convinced I like it yet. Don’t get me wrong, if someone wants to buy me one, I’ll drive it.

Check out the Tesla Model S:

I will admit that I enjoy some fairly odd styles. I like paisley ties, and shirts like this. I’d probably even wear them together!

That being said, the electric car at the top of my list is the Mercedes- Benz SLS AMG E-Cell. As far as I could find, it is still in its final stages, and doesn’t have a set release date yet. It can make it to almost 100 miles per charge, and will cost you a couple-hundred-thousand bucks to purchase, but I can just imagine riding alongside 2 Chainz, and “pullin’ up to the scene with”… the majority of the “ceiling missin’”, in this:

Now, like I said, I am not a car kind of dude, so let me know if you think of anything else I can add to my wish-list before I send it off to Santa this year!

Remember, Earth Day is coming up quickly, so please stay green, and, of course, stay classy!

Okay, TurnKey fans, we need your help and we need it fast!

This month, our friends over at OurEarth.org have been running an amazing campaign. This campaign has been pumping up awareness and enthusiasm for a group of Earth-loving organizations (also amazing) in their efforts to earn some well-deserved cash in Chase’s Community Giving Contest. Basically, OurEarth.org and these charities joined together and collectively devised a goal of scoring $500,000 of Chase’s $5 Million total. OurEarth.org is calling this campaign “Vote for the Planet”, but in the interest of time, laziness, and my own propensity for acronyms, let’s call it V4TP. I’m glad we got that out of the way.

Over the past few weeks, V4TP has been putting up a serious fight against the competition. Out of a participant pool that is nothing short of massive, multiple V4TP organizations are looking at hefty winnings. Particularly noteworthy, is the fact that it’s not just the charity with the most votes that benefits from V4TP. All charities that rank within the top 196 of the total Chase Community Giving vote counts will be given a grant. If you jump over to the “Ranking” page on the V4TP website, you’ll find a quick-look at where your votes stand to make the biggest splash. For instance, bumping the Save the Manatee Club up just one spot would mean a difference of thousands of dollars! Or, pushing The American Hiking Society into the top 196 would, quite literally, make or break it for them in this contest.

Here’s where the sense of urgency comes in: V4TP is ending soon. How soon, you ask? Well, tonight-soon. 12am, EST-soon. Thankfully, the voting process is incredibly easy. There are more details and instructions on the V4TP website, here. Oh, and do you want to hear something really exciting? You are not limited to just one vote. Each participant can earn up to three voting credits on Facebook alone. Are you a Chase customer? If so, you have a little extra pull, and we encourage you to use it!

Lastly, don’t forget to check out the “Done Voting?” page when you’re –wait for it—DONE VOTING. There, you will find a list of ways you can help raise awareness or get involved with the V4TP organizations after all is said and done.

As of 6am today, the V4TP organizations stood to win $290,000. Think we can push them a little higher? I’m sure you, like me, have been told that more is not always better… In this case, it so is.

One of the most compelling and least talked about benefits of cloud computing is the potential it offers for a real positive impact on the environment. As computer usage continues to grow at an exponential rate, technology-related emissions grow right along with it. We hear all the time about how using less paper saves the environment, but the electricity it takes to access all that information digitally is rarely talked about or quantified. Office IT infrastructures are huge energy sinkholes. Businesses lose thousands of dollars each year paying to power their IT infrastructure when they could be saving a fortune by transitioning their business to the cloud.

Greenpeace predicts the global carbon emissions from computer use will double by 2020. That would be unsustainable and environmentally catastrophic. Greenpeace also states that datacenters that consolidate usage and power could conserve resources significantly. This may seem counterintuitive, since datacenters are huge energy consumers. But, when you consider the power saved by consolidating usage, it makes perfect sense.

In an office environment, servers typically stay online 24×7. This may be necessary for the business—if workers need access remotely or software needs to run constantly—but it is extremely wasteful. Those servers are running at full power even if they are only needed for a small amount of processing. In a datacenter, every piece of the computer’s processing power is used. Many offices can conduct their daily operations for the same amount of power one office was using in-house. It’s a basic consolidation equation but it’s one that business owners have yet to embrace.
Another aspect of the environmental friendliness of the datacenter is the power source. Most datacenters are equipped with extremely efficient energy infrastructures. For example, our new datacenter in Latham New York will be equipped with NYSERDA approved power. NYSERDA is the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. They conduct energy audits of commercial buildings and suggest best practices for equipping spaces with the most efficient technology possible. We can offer our clients a state-approved level of efficiency that we’re willing to bet their office parks probably don’t offer.

In addition to these green-friendly benefits of cloud computing, it is fairly easy to see how much cost savings there is here as well. Hosting and running applications from the cloud eliminates the cost of in-house hardware and IT staff while improving performance and reliability (more on that in the next article). Read more on Greenpeace’s take on cloud computing, renewable energy and the future here: http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/publications/reports/make-it-green-cloud-computing/.

As you may know, cloud computing is remote computing—housing your data on many different servers, worldwide, with remote access to files and software and an infinitely scalable (grow-able) infrastructure. What you may not know is that cloud computing has been around for a very long time. While it has only recently become the go-to hot potato, for years many businesses have been utilizing cloud services to run things behind the scenes. There is no foreseeable end to the cloud—it is growing every day as more people realize how powerful, cost effective and useful it really is—and for many small and medium-sized businesses, the sooner they implement cloud services, the better for their bottom line.

Emerging Technologies

As the cloud goes mainstream, businesses everywhere are capitalizing on the new technology—both internally and as a potential area for expansion. The faster you move your business to the cloud, the faster you will be able to incorporate new technological advances into your business model. The longer you wait, the more difficult getting a handle on the new services will become. Start now, start small, and soon enough your business will be launching ahead of your competition. It is not every day that an opportunity presents itself to take a giant business leap forward without any risk to the business’ foundation or to day-to-day operations. You can get cloud services up and running while everything else stays in place then, when you are ready to switch over, do it seamlessly and without any glitches.

SaaS

As I have discussed in a previous post, software-as-a-service is a key component to what makes the cloud so beneficial for businesses. Accessing software from anywhere, paying licensing fees for individuals instead of computer work-stations and eliminating the cost of downtime and maintenance are just some of the reasons the SaaS cloud makes sense. Paying for exorbitantly expensive software and IT support is one of the main factors holding many small businesses back from challenging their larger competition. Check out TurnKey Internet’s cloud SaaS solutions.

Cloud and the Environment

IT infrastructure is extremely costly, from a monetary and environmental perspective. Housing, cooling and powering your business servers requires a large amount of energy. From an individual business’ perspective, this matters, but it also matters on a macro level: providing a networked server cloud for all your clients is far more efficient than providing a dedicated server for each one. As more and more businesses move to the cloud, we will reduce carbon emissions exponentially. That alone is a good enough reason to switch.