Intel vPro Expert Center Blog

One week without social media really does have an impact

josh.hilliker@intel.com — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:49:49 GMT

Over the last week I decided to take a journey, one without social media and interacting with folks online. What I learned is the following:

Took longer to do my job (it’s true!!)
Missed out a few key interactions that would have helped me – it’s true, I am now combing back through to look a few posts – example: Spiceworks just announced a new plug in capability that is leveraging vPro
Realized I was not sharing as much as I could have – I was working on win7 & vPro for SMB, defining the ease of use of both technologies in the 3-5 PC space. I missed sharing this information out to the team and group.
Had a few dialogues around me missing something online – a few folks ping’d me throughout the week if I had seen certain things (from technology to people movement inside Intel)

So why does this matter to vPro? Well, I believe part of the success of realizing your vPro value is to use our community, interact with us on twitter and be a part of the technology adoption and usage. I also realized that usage of our technology is not confined to how we believe it will help you, but also how it will be used in different situations, location’s, and relevant to your business.

If you want to connect with us, here’s who’s on twitter for vPro? Here’s a few accounts.

IntelvPro twitter.com/intelvpro

SmartchickPdx twitter.com/smartchickpdx

Joshprostar twitter.com/joshprostar

I also missed the interactions online that I usually participate in throughout the week.

Call for Topics - Intel vPro

josh.hilliker@intel.com — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 18:40:26 GMT

HI all,

Internally we are cooking up a # of topics that we would like to share from Use Cases, BIOS versions, form factor's, etc.. However we wanted to ask you first as a community, what would you like to hear more on? What piece of vPro do we need to show more?

Let us know.. leave a comment or shoot me an email josh@intel.com.

Thank You

Josh H

Meet Trevor Sullivan - vPro Expert

josh.hilliker@intel.com — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 17:52:27 GMT

Small & Medium Businesses: How to Deliver Intel vPro Technology - PROS004 class highlights

josh.hilliker@intel.com — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 17:13:29 GMT

Abdul kicks us off with the core message - SMB is important, Talking about SMB, MSP & Mesh.

Teri McFaul - Talking about MSP’s and her work w/ the SP’s. 3 major IT service task SP’s perform area: HW maintenance tasks, sw/anti-virus updates, hwupdates/remediation.

2 Options for provisioning for Service Providers

#1. Manually Provision in SMB Site

go to SMB Talk

#2. Pre-Provision before shipping to SMB

Now onto Ylian talking about two innovative concept ideas:

*Use IDE-r on the internet

*using Intel AMt in a mesh configuration

Teaser - Booting a minimal Linux* kernel

* use 2Mg disk image to boot a small kernel

* create a beach front: serial, disk and network

* User serial for control, disk for caching, network to download more tools

He will show how to build a linux kernel.

Mesh time

- Provisioning intel AMT in a mesh.

This was by far the best session for IDF for vPro that I was in. I will put a link here to the material as soon as possible.

Paul Talking vPro @ IDF 09

josh.hilliker@intel.com — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 17:38:20 GMT

Here's a good showcase from Paul on vPro and the new features, including anti-theft. Also what is very cool is the example of a MID in the enterprise that can kick off the kill pill for a stolen laptop.

More to come in the classes and highlights from the team. Stay Tuned for more. I'll also put on a higher res version post IDF.

IDF vPro courses - 2009 SF

josh.hilliker@intel.com — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 07:05:33 GMT

PROS001 Technical Overview of Next Generation Intel® vPro™ Technology
PROS002 Increasing Client Manageability with Intel® vPro™ Technology and Microsoft* System Center Configuration Manager 2007
PROS003 Client Virtualization and Intel® vPro™ Technology
PROS004 Small and Medium Business: How to Deliver Intel® vPro™ Technology
PROS005 Thieves Beware: Intel® Powered Notebooks Will Turn Into Bricks When Stolen!
PROP001 Interactive Panel on Benefits of Intel® Anti-theft Technology (Intel® AT)
PROP002 Deploying and Managing Intel® vPro™ Technology in Enterprise Environments
PROL001-002 Extreme Programming with Intel® vPro™ Technology: Pushing the Limits with Innovative Software
PROQ001 Intel® vPro™ Technology Deployment Best Practices in Enterprise Environments
Additional info in the Intel® vPro ™ Technology community – Showcase, 1st floor
Book on topic: Active Platform Management Demystified: Unleashing the Power of Intel® vPro™ Technology (Intel Press)

Our Top 3 Contributors - and meet our very own Sponsor For Tomorrow!

michele.gartner@intel.com — Thu, 21 May 2009 23:19:44 GMT

Matt Semenza, The Expert Center's Sponsor For Tomorrow

Last week, Josh had the opportunity to catch up with Matt Semenza, Marketing Manager at Intel. Matt talks about his role as a megaphone to the community about what's going on with software solutions and their availability.

Because of Matt's help, we are able to recognize our top three contributors on the Intel vPro Expert Center! Listen to Matt, as he talks about how these guys are able to save our customers time by sharing their best known methods, failures, and successes.

Our Top 3 Contributors

Congratulations to Trevor, Javed, and Joel!!! Thank you so much for your contributions to the Intel vPro Expert Center. And a big thank you to Matt, who provided the vPro jackets to show our appreciation. Trevor, Javed, and Joel are shown wearing their vPro jackets, below.

Trevor Sullivan

Trevor is a Systems Engineer with OfficeMax Corporation. He has worked in IT since mid-2004 and has experience implementing and supporting mostly Microsoft products - including Active Directory, SMS and ConfigMgr, Microsoft Deployment Toolkit, software virtualization, VBscript, and more.

Javed Lodhi

Javed is a Technical Marketing Engineer with Expert Systems. He has worked on numerous large-scale public, private, and military projects, including data warehousing solutions using SAS, network switching, routing, design, monitoring, and security, and storage and virtualization solutions on Intel platforms.

Joel Smith

Joel is a Principal Support Engineer with Symantec Altiris. Joel started with Altiris Corporation when they were 192 strong and watched the business and company grow into 1000+ employees before merging with the greater Symantec Corporation. Joel works with the Altiris products that leverage Intel's vPro technology.

Win7, SCCM SP2 & vPro

josh.hilliker@intel.com — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 17:03:31 GMT

Today at MMS (Microsoft Management Summit) Brad Anderson showed a new use case we have been working on around Windows 7, SCCM SP2 & Intel vPro Technology. The specific use case is how to do an upgrade with user data while the state of the machine is powered down. This usage of vPro allows for OOB power up, then win7 installation begins. Here's what we will be posting shortly to help answer any questions you may have around this use case:

* Video of MMS & Brad showing this use case

* Use case flow document that shows what technology is being leveraged

What we have found in the lab, which I will publish out over the coming weeks, is that this technology works really well together and can make your win7 deployment easier. Please let me know your questions and tune back here for more of the data, specifics & use cases.

Hang Onto That Laptop

scott1.e.smith@intel.com — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 19:06:51 GMT

I attended an eye-opening press briefing the other day where George Thangadurai, strategic planning director for Intel’s Anti-Theft Program, Ponemon Institute founder Larry Ponemon; and Rex Rountree, an encryption expert from Intel’s IT group disclosed details from a study that calculated the actual cost of losing or having notebook computer stolen, a rapidly growing problem. The basic message to the millions of us mobile workers was: Hang onto that laptop.

Chain it to you if you must because if it’s lost or stolen the bill to your company will be $49,264 on the average. The “Cost of a Lost Notebook,” study was commissioned by Intel and conducted by the Ponemon Institute. You can find an overview of the findings in the news release.

Intel undertook the study to better understand the problem and devise remedies that are simpler than handcuffing yourself to your notebook. In January, Intel introduced Anti-Theft Technology as one way to help make laptops less appealing to thieves. Anti-Theft Technology works by locking a computer reported lost or stolen either from a remote server or from policies embedded into the PC. Once locked, the computer is useless until recovered at which time IT can issue the owner a password to make it functional once again.

Intel works with computer makers and service providers, such as Absolute, Lenovo, PGP and Phoenix to implement Anti-Theft Technology. If used in conjunction with a hard-disk encryption service vendor, such as PGP, Anti-Theft Technology can house the encryption keys, which are normally stored on the hard disk, in the chipset. If the PC turns up missing, the keys can be deleted. So, even if a thief has the passwords to unencrypt the drive, they are useless and the data protected. If the thief removes the hard disk from a locked computer in hopes of installing it in another computer to gain access to the data, he leaves the keys locked behind But, back to the study.

That $50,000 cost, which I suspect has any CFO reading this clutching his chest, results, of course, from this potential compromise of data. In fact, responding to a data breach is responsible for about 80 percent of the cost, according to the study. The rest covers investigating the loss, the price tag for any lost intellectual property, legal expenses and making regulatory disclosures. Let’s also not forget the disruption to an employee whose entire job function likely hinges on his computer.

So, what can a company do? The study concludes that encryption helps. It knocks about $20,000 of the bill. Why doesn’t it eliminate all of the expense? Encryption depends on who has access to the encryption credentials to decipher the data. If they’ve somehow been compromised or you’re dealing with a disgruntled employee, then even the most elaborate cipher won’t help. It also depends on employees actually using the encryption features and on which data they encrypt.

So, in the end, cutting the cost of missing laptops requires a multifaceted blend of technology and practices. Rex added that training employees how to protect their notebooks goes a long way in cutting the risk as well.

After the briefing, I still had some questions and caught up with George, Larry and Rex for a chat. If you’d like to listen to the briefing, it’s available at 1-800-475-6701, conference ID# 997098.

Ever had a laptop stolen or have any thoughts on preventing theft? I’m sure everyone would be interested in your comments.

Connecting with Intel & peers through our Intel Premier IT Program

josh.hilliker@intel.com — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 04:11:39 GMT

Recently I was talking with my friends that run our Intel Premier IT program, http://ipip.intel.com, and they were telling me about a new award they are providing, in which you can submit your entries to be feature din CIO magazine. therefore I wanted to pass this onto the community and also let you know that if your interested in connecting with Intel & peers local to you, the IPIP program is a stellar place to do this very thing. I have attended a few of these events last year and was very impressed with the speakers, material and the great audience of IT folks that showed up.

If your intersted in hearing more about the award, here's the link. I also heard from them that there are only a few client submissions (mostly in the server & DC space), therefore a great opportunity to show your client story.

http://ipip.intel.com/go/1819/intel-premier-it-knowledge-awards/

We're hosting an online conference - and it's FREE!

michele.gartner@intel.com — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 21:39:34 GMT

Come join us for our first ever virtual conference on the Intel vPro Expert Center. This virtual conference series, entitled Intel Solutions for Today's Economy, kicks off on Tuesday, March 24th. The first installment is "Optimize Your Business and Improve the Bottom Line." The overall theme of the webinar will be discussing how to do more with less.

Is it just Intel people talking about Intel?

No! Here's the cool part. We are bringing in several users who have implemented Intel vPro technology in their workplace - they will be discussing how they now save time and money by using PCs with vPro technology - as well as how they are increasing organizational productivity. You'll be able to ask them questions at the end of their presentation.

Our featured speakers are:

Paul Baltzell, Director of Distributed Services for the Indiana Office of Technology
Dan Lutter, Director, Field Technology Services at Advocate Healthcare

Event Logistics

Date: Tuesday, March 24th

Time: 8:00 am PDT

How to Register

Visit this link to visit the registration page: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/862206193

More Information

http://communities.intel.com/docs/DOC-2709

Come join us on Facebook!

michele.gartner@intel.com — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 21:01:15 GMT

Did you know that the Expert Center has a group on Facebook? Come join us! Write on the Wall or start a discussion! We've been using this group to announce events, post videos and pictures - and would love to see some dialog. Join the fun!

Stop vPro from Making Memories of Pop PC Fixes

scott1.e.smith@intel.com — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 02:42:24 GMT

Many at Intel have been taking smug pride at at the success that Intel vPro technology has been making in easing IT techs’ jobs. Now, from their consoles IT pros are handling problems that used to require a trek down the hall if not a journey across town. Even if the the OS goes south or the user has clicked the off switch and gone on vacation, they don’t even have to lean forward in their chairs to update an application or download a patch. They just whack a few keys and the problem is no more. But in the wake of all this efficiency, vPro has sucked all the creativity out of repairing PCs. Before vPro, I’ll bet each of us, pros and end-users alike, had a sure-fire trick that we’d wield like a magic screwdriver every time the cursor froze or the “g” key would only produce a smiley face. In my home office, when “No Network Found” appeared instead of Intel.com, I’d unplug the power cords from the cable modem and wireless router, count to 10 and plug them back in, and I was back to hammering out press releases. (I have to be honest though, I didn’t invent this procedure. It’s the cable company’s official fix. True, you can call them.) In the end, I plugged both into the outlet controlled by the wall switch. So now, they sync every time I come in to work. As I became more enraged at the clever fixes that are being lost because of vPro, I polled some of my friends just to see what tricks they had, but likely would never use again. Cameron Tabucchi had been told to put her computer in the freezer to help keep the battery charged. (She declined to confirm whether she actually does this, but the ice cream smears are a giveaway.) When Ellen Topp’s computer freezes, she religiously restarts, defrags and restarts it, again. As if by a miracle it springs back to life. CTRL…ALT…DELETE! – repeated several times as if it were an incantation (once has been proven insufficient and correct rhythm is crucial) – always works for Amy Cook. We need your help in collecting and archiving this wealth of creative prescriptions for patching up our computers to prevent their loss. So, if you have a favorite fix – the wackier the more worthy of preserving – share it in this quick survey to ensure that despite vPro it follow eight-track tapes into obscurity.

Feet on the Street - Gregory Bryant Part III (Community feedback)

josh.hilliker@intel.com — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 19:28:07 GMT

Gregory & I in our 1:1 interview talk about the community and the call to action, along with feedback. Tune in to hear more and hear the funny comment he tells me.

Next up on Feet on the Street - I met w/ a local IT company, stay tuned to hear more..

7 Great Ways to Get Involved with vPro!

kelsey.e.witherow@intel.com — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 23:58:42 GMT

Are you not much of a blogger? Well, have no fear...There are more ways for you to stay updated and get involved with everything vPro! If writing up your best known methods or posting a quick start guide to the Expert Center isn't your idea of fun then here are seven other great options to stay involved with the vPro community...

Facebook

Facebook gives people the power to share and makes the world more open and connected. The site that millions of users have grown to love also has a page for need-to-know and latest news on Intel vPro Technology. Go to http://www.facebook.com, create a profile, and add "Intel-vPro" as a friend through this link.

Twitter

As its website states, "Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?" Curious what vPro is up to? Create an account and follow the tweets of "intelvPro" at http://twitter.com/intelvPro or follow the "Proest of Pro's," Josh Hilliker, at www.twitter.com/joshprostar

Heartbeat Newsletter

This bi-weekly newsletter includes everything new with Intel vPro Technology. You’ll learn about new white papers, user guides, known issues and more when you receive this newsletter. Click here to sign up!

Distribution Lists

Get Intel vPro help/updates/news/BKMs & MORE delievered right to your inbox. Questions and answers are swapped and info distributed through this list. Go to this link and subscribe.

YouTube

The leader in online video and perfect destination to watch and share videos on the worldwide web, YouTube has been an awesome outlet for some of our favorite and most helpful vPro videos. You can find tons of vPro videos on http://www.youtube.com/vproexpert and can also watch those that Josh Hilliker has posted at http://www.youtube.com/joshprostar

BlogTalkRadio

Hosted by Josh Hilliker, Russ Pam, and Jeff Torello (and featuring a little bit of myself every now and then) this bi-weekly informal show covered a variety of topics and was a perfect avenue to get your questions answered. On BlogTalkRadio you can listen to all of the shows that we have already recorded! Make sure not to miss out on this awesome opportunity to learn and engage with the vPro experts. Visit the Open Port Radio site to hear previous shows and stay updated as we release our future show topics...

Quick Start Guides

Another helpful resource that is provided on Intel vPro are the quick start guides that are posted. These guides include the steps to setup Intel AMT devices with LANDesk, Altiris, and Microsoft.