Lansweeper rocks, the primary
We used to run SMS 2.0 when I first started here. It was ok but basically a pig for what it did for us so I ditched it a few years ago. Well the one thing SMS did allow you to do was software inventory. Recently we came up with a situation where we wanted to get a firm count on how many licenses we were using and I had no easy way to do it so I started searching for a free way to do it, not expecting to find much. Well I was pleasantly surprised to find a freeware product called Lansweeper Pro.
It is in a word, awesome. The only catch is if you don’t have some technical expertise, setting it up could be a bit rough. It isn’t case of running setup and clicking NEXT a few times. It is an ASP application where you have to set up the SQL back end for it. Luckily if you have some basic windows admin experience and can follow directions, setting it up shouldn’t be too bad. I followed the 20 or so pages of steps and got my installation up and running with only a few hiccups along the way.
Once it is installed, getting it populated with information about your clients is easy. There is no software to be installed on the clients, simply an executable to be run that can be included in the logon script. Once it is run the software becomes populated with pretty much anything you wanted to know about the machines on your network. The reporting is extensive and allows tasks like tracking license usage become a no-brainer. It is GREAT software.
Yea non-techies will find the above rant boring, sorry. In local news, John McCain won the Florida primary and Hilary stomped Obama in the Democratic primary even though it means nothing. It is so stupid. Evidently Florida and Michigan decided to move up their primaries to earlier dates so they would become more significant players in the process. Well for some reason the democratic party didn’t like this and decided that they would not recognize the results from these two states to penalize them. It is asinine, I mean wtf?
I still am up in the air between Obama and Hilary. Obama is a powerful speaker whom instills confidence just listening to him, a polar opposite to our sitting president. I like the fact that he hasn’t been in the “system” that long, hoping he has not yet been corrupted by it yet like so many others. I think it is awesome that a black man has a shot at becoming president. On the negative side I think Republicans WANT him to win because they think he is beatable because of his limited time in congress. I am sure they also are counting on the underlying racism that still exists in America to be helpful as well.
With Hilary, she just isn’t that likable and comes off poorly with her public image. She is very polarizing for some reason and the people that don’t like her, REALLY don’t like her, namely Republicans. I think they are much more scared of Hilary as capable of winning the election. To me, the upside of Hilary is it is almost like getting Bill back in the white house. Although Hilary will have the title, you know Bill will be involved. I liked Clinton as president, I could care less if he got a bj. Hilary has views on the war and health care that I like and the federal budget under Bill actually was operating at a surplus, all great things.
It’s obvious to me that the Republicans are shoe horning McCain as their candidate. I have always liked John McCain but there are two things that bother me. First when he ran against Bush, Bush smeared McCain all over the place. After the fact McCain stepped right in line and kissed Bush’s ass. Second, I hate McCain’s stance on Iraq, he wants to stay there. That fact alone makes me dismiss him as a candidate. Being in Iraq is killing us literally and figuratively. Plus the guy is older than dirt, I don’t think he would live through his term.