John Lim, CTOBy John Lim, CTO

So one of my exciting weekend projects was wiping a used laptop from work. I use a Mac predominantly and have a PC on my desk, but I thought hmm, maybe I could use a laptop. Conveniently, we had a Windows laptop that was no longer in use.

Now, working with Windows, after the machine has been running for a while you’ll typically notice what is called Bit Rot (basically slower performance). One thing I and other techs have done in the past is to wipe and reload our computers with a fresh, new operating system.

This makes Windows run great again (if you’re not sure how to do this, don’t try this at home)!

That’s the good thing about doing this. The machine is like new, without the feeling of slowness. The bad news is you’re wiping EVERYTHING, and with that comes having to reinstall all your utilities, all your software, taking files off then transferring them all back, all that craziness.

Which is a pain.

An ideal initial install time frame for a workstation is 4 hours. IDEALLY…and that is a relatively short install time if the machine is brand new. An install can go upwards of 7-8 hours, and that’s just to get everything back to where you were at. Which can take forever.

So here I am, wiping the computer, reinstalling, and running Windows updates (to ensure that I got all the security patches and updates). Now it’s time for me to get all my work tools up on it. Luckily, for me, all the tools I need for basic work functionality are web-based applications hosted in the Cloud.

YESSSSS!

Why is that so exciting? Well, it means that all I had to do was reinstall Windows, reinstall my favorite web browser, and that’s it! I now have my browser ready, with which I can search for all the tools that I use: office messaging system, email, knowledge base, etc. My new/used computer is ready to go!

So what’s the point here? Wiping, installing, and re-adding things back on to a machine can take a very long time. But this in this instance, our decentralized infrastructure and use of the Cloud was definitely an example of productivity enhanced.

// John, CTO directs our team of technicians in support cases, new project planning, and research and development. John came to TekTegrity after spending ten years as a leader in Cuesta College’s Information Technology Department where he helped make possible Cuesta’s High Tech building, myCuesta portal, and Gmail integration. If you come by the office and there are dozens of donuts, bagels or fresh egg rolls (from San José) in the break room, John is most likely the food fairy who left them. And if he’s not feeding or directing the tech team you might find John having lunch at the Elks Lodge or spot him cruising the coast with his motorcycle gang.