Velocity Micro Blog

One Week, Two Editors' Choice Awards

2009-09-11T09:42:00.005-05:00

It's been a great couple of days for Velocity Micro, and I'd like to share the good news. We won TWO major Editors' Choice awards this week alone.

From Cnet.com:

"Velocity Micro has earned a reputation in our lab as one of the better desktop builders, and the Edge Z30 gives us no reason to change our opinion."

"To put the [$1,299] Velocity Micro in a larger perspective, its application scores are in the same ballpark as a $6,500 Alienware system we reviewed last November. There's no mainstream task you can throw at the Edge Z30 it can't handle."

From PCMag.com:

"If you know a gamer that drools over the $5,000-plus systems but doesn't have a load of cash, check this PC out."

"I'm certainly not hesitant on giving the Z30 the Editors' Choice for midpriced ($1,000 to $1,500) gaming systems, replacing the Gateway FX6800-01e"

Thanks to everyone--from fans and partners to fellow employees--for your help and support. Let's keep building great computers!

7 Reasons You Want Velocity Micro with Free Windows 7

2009-06-26T14:40:00.002-05:00

The Future Begins. 7 reasons you want a Velocity Micro PC with a Free Windows 7 Upgrade

The wait is over. Starting today, all Velocity Micro PCs with Windows Vista ordered on VelocityMicro.com or purchased from a certified retailer will receive a coupon for a FREE upgrade to Windows 7 upon its official release.

That’s free, as in zero dollars. The cost of a sunny day. Free.

And simply put, Windows 7 is quite honestly the best version of Windows I’ve ever seen.

Here are 7 reasons you want a Velocity Micro PC with a Free Windows 7 Upgrade:

Increased Speed and Reliability – Thanks to an improved internal infrastructure, Windows 7 sleeps and resumes faster, is less power hungry, and recognizes USB devices quicker.

Improved Windows Search – Shouldn’t searching for a file on your home PC be just as easy (if not easier) than searching the web? Now, at long last, it is.

XP Mode – This is really cool. For those of you that have put off upgrading your business machines due to compatibility fears, Windows 7 offers a virtual copy of XP SP3 which allows you to run practically any application compatible with XP, right on your Windows 7 PC. XP Mode is included in Windows 7 Professional and Windows 7 Ultimate. I tried it here at the office with SAP – works great!

Increased security – The internet is a scary place sometimes. Protect your vital information and critical data with the enhanced security features that Windows 7 provides.

Media Management – With Windows Live Essentials and Media Center, Windows 7 makes it easier to organize, edit, and enjoy your video and photo collection.

Touch Screen – Let’s be honest. Having a touch screen monitor is really awesome. With Windows 7 enhanced touch screen compatibility, you’ll navigate easier, even without a mouse and keyboard. (Additional hardware required of course – and fingers.)

HomeGroup – Anyone who’s ever set up a home network knows what a hassle it can be. Windows 7 HomeGroup takes the headache out of home networking, making sharing files and printers simple and easy.

Interested? Thought you might be. Click here to learn more about what Windows 7 has to offer or simply give our team a call at 800-303-7866 to go ahead and order your ultra performance PC with a Windows 7 upgrade right now. Believe me when I say it’s seriously worth the hype.

A Desktop PC is Your Best Investment This Year

2008-10-29T15:57:00.000-05:00

Everyone knows the global economy has been shaken this year, and especially the past month. That gives us all a reason to pause and think about our computing choices before we spend money more than ever before.

In terms of computers, most people still consider a PC a necessity for our modern digital lifestyle. With that in mind, it seems to me that the best "bang-for-the-buck" decision at the moment is a quality desktop computer. The advantages are: considerably more performance per dollar, a much longer service life, easier upgradability, lower total cost of ownership, and less opportunity for damage or failure. These reasons make it a no brainer to me to choose a solid desktop over a notebook for the same amount of money. If you have a working notebook, use it as your travel unit that doesn't need to do your heavy computing.

In fact, the rise of the new "ultra-mobile" (UMPC) netbooks is already taking advantage of this idea for a growing number of people. Inexpensive UMPC products are lower powered and ideal just for travel by design. They can't do significant video or photo work, no gaming, and have very little storage. But as a second computer, they are perfect as a low powered travel tool. If you already have an older notebook that you are thinking of replacing, consider keeping it as your travel tool that you can bring back to your main desktop computer to link to for the real work and enjoyment. Your older notebook can now become your new UMPC.

While this economy shakes out as it certainly will, and I think the election will settle our economic uncertainty, many people will still need a powerful computer to manage their lives better. The PC, even a solid Velocity Micro desktop, is not just a luxury item if you care about the digital world we live in. It affords a vital personal connection with the world and a much needed escape from the stress we are all feeling.

Our economy will survive, as will our need for computing performance. For now, the desktop PC is the best use of your money.

CineMagix FuzeBox - whole house audio, DVD movies and more!

2008-10-07T09:20:00.006-05:00

We are proud to announce our new CineMagix™ FuzeBox ™ and FuzeBox ™ Pro! What's a FuzeBox? See our mini-site and video demo here

Finally a way to harness all the good stuff media center does:

Live and recorded HD cable TV
Pictures and slideshow
Home videos...

and add to that:

Whole house, multi zone audio! 5 discreet audio zones in the FuzeBox; and up to 9 audio zones in the Pro. Play Dave Matthews on the Patio; Beyonce in the Living room and Kitchen; Metallica in your home office - all at the same time!

DVD Library! Watch Gladiator in the Home Theater on Blu-ray; Caddyshack in the Master bedroom; Harry Potter in the rec room. Easy and fun!

A simple to use interface. None of that scrolling around MCE confusion. Now your non-tech savvy family members will be able to use the media system. AND, the whole system is locked down so no one can install any software to blow it up! Finally!

We know you will have lots of questions - check out our mini-site for lots more info and demos. Call us at 800-303-7866 or chat right now. Or post on our forum announcement. We'd love to talk to you about it!

Another Editors' Choice Award

2008-07-24T11:00:00.000-05:00

We’ve done it again. Our bang for the buck dynamo, the Vector™ Campus Edition, has been named Editors’ Choice by PC Magazine again for 2008. Recognized for its combination of performance, features, and value, the editors of PC Magazine have made the Vector™ Campus Edition their top choice for back to school desktop PCs.

Our goal has always been to create ultra performance, award winning PCs by using the very best parts, a meticulous build process, and our expert support. It’s what we do and who we are. It’s the Velocity Difference. I want our customers to have confidence that their computer investment is the best total value for the 4 years or more that a student will need to depend on a PC for their digital life and lifestyle.

Speaking of a computer for back to school, I still think a desktop is the way to go. Few students lug a laptop around campus for more than a few weeks at the start of the year, and a powerful, upgradeable desktop has a far better chance of getting through the four grueling years of college. No, it’s not as convenient to bring home on breaks, but there are plenty of handheld devices that can get them through. (I hate to admit I regularly do email on my iPod Touch!)

We created our 2008 Campus Edition Desktop as an extension of this philosophy. Configured to live right in that sweet spot where performance, features, and value meet, we wanted the Campus Edition to epitomize who we are. I have to say we did a great job of doing so, creating what really is the ultimate PC for back to school, and I’m proud of the fact that PC Magazine has recognized that. In this economy, our larger OEM rivals are really gunning for our little space in the industry, and this accolade proves that there is more to meeting customer needs than just a super low price. The Velocity difference is something they just don’t have, fortunately.

Look for more of the same from us in the coming months. Neither Velocity Micro nor the ultra performance computers that we build will be slowing down one bit.

"What's Your Velocity?" grand prize winner

2008-06-16T12:35:00.002-05:00

Our hearty congratulations to Rivetz, the grand prize winner of Velocity Micro's first ever video contest, "What's Your Velocity?" Rivetz's entry was original and creative - making use of the theme to create a video that was witty and highly entertaining. We encourage you to check out the video here.

Many thanks to all who entered the contest - your videos were creative, unique, gripping, and incredibly fun to watch.

This is just the first of many contests we hope to host. Please stay tuned for more information.

Congratulations video contest finalists!

2008-06-09T09:41:00.003-05:00

Friday we announced the top ten finalists for our "What's Your Velocity?" video contest. It was an extremely difficult decision - there were so many amazing video submissions. Our congtatulations to all who participated.

In no particular order, the top ten finalists are:

Test Mad, "My Velocity Micro Video Entry"
Hagard Productions, "Velocity: the Power to Fight Back"
Stacydp, "What's Your Velocity - Pixie"
MNY3020, the infomercial
Rivetz, "What's Your Velocity?"
Hunter08721, "Whats Your Velocity: Glad You Asked"
Rivetz, "Save Chet"
Leahzero, "CPU Race"
Penguisher, "What's Your Velocity?"
waistworks, "Shifft Into Overdrive"

View all the finalists at our contest page. Stay tuned this Friday when we announce the grand prize winner and runners up!

So...what's new?

2008-06-04T17:45:00.003-05:00

A seemingly simple question, yet overly complex at the same time. Honestly, in regards to components, when in the technology industry is anything the same for an extended period of time? With the exception of the floppy drive, there is hardly anything that isn't being constantly updated, refreshed, improved, or completely overhauled.

In a world where innovation, at least so-called innovation, reigns supreme, how do you discern what's new and improved against what's simply new for the sake of being new? Much of the PC industry (manufacturers specifically) is hung up on the term "innovate", but can anyone legitimately show me where anyone is innovating? I can. The key to "innovation" is being able to develop and launch these new products, but still offer to your customers the value they deserve. Keeping your product lines on the bleeding edge while not making your customers bleed for it should be the #1 goal of any PC manufacturer. We have built a solid foundation around this formula.

What makes us so successful? Our loyalty and sense of duty to you, our customer - current and potential. That is what the Velocity Experience is all about. That is what we mean by "building the perfect PC experience".

Call our sales line, talk to us about your computing needs, let us build a system to your exact specifications and support it like you have always dreamed someone could. Trust us with your digital life. Computers have become an intricate part in all of our lives. Doesn't your experience deserve to be the best available? We think so.

Fun Things to Do with Your CineMagix Home Theater

2008-06-03T15:53:00.003-05:00

I am a huge PC game enthusiast - but second to gaming, I love whole house audio, video and automation. A lot of folks that buy our cool home theater PCs (HTPC) named "CineMagix" get them strictly to put in their living rooms. That is certainly where I have mine. Why a "PC" in your entertainment area? Firstly, it frees up all kinds of other hardware. No need for a CD or DVD changer - all my music and movies are on the storage system. No need for a Blu-ray player - it's built in! And when I play DVD's they are upconverted and look incredible! I don't need to pay my cable company for their DVR rental or get a Tivo and its monthly service fee - Vista Media Center does a WAY better job of helping me choose my shows and record them. Best of all, I'm not limited to the hard drive in one of those systems; I can expand my video storage as I need to. And, my wife can finally show off all our digital pictures - easier than using a digital photo frame!

But, having all that in my living room is really just the beginning. What you may not realize is the ease of which you can get your pictures, music and videos throughout the house. The easiest whole media solution is just get and XBox 360, run a network cable to it and hook one to each TV in the house. They become "extenders" and have the same functions as your main media server. Watch any recorded or live show, listen to any/all of your music, view your pictures and video library! It's great!

Now, not everyone wants video and pictures. And the downside to and XBox or other extender, is you need a display of some kind. Some of you just want great music all over the house. There are lots of ways to do it, but my favorites are products by Sonos and Logitech.

Check out the Sonos zone players here.

See the Logitech Squeezebox here.

Both companies make great wireless, audio zone systems. They are easy to set up and use.

So, start with a killer CineMagix Home Theater in your entertainment center as your main piece of gear - and as a solution for whole home media, start with an XBox 360 -- or just do music with a Sonos or a Squeezebox or two. You'll feel like you're controlling your world!

and so ends the first ever Velocity video contest

2008-06-02T07:04:00.003-05:00

With creative movie makers toiling to the last possible moment to get their videos in before yesterday's deadline, the Velocity Micro "What's Your Velocity?" video contest has come to a close. We've just accepted our last entries - over 60 in all with everything from public service announcements and Velocity "infomercials" to cinematic gameplay videos to songs and skits and more.

We were floored by the sheer genius, creativity, and untold hours of blood, sweat, and tears in all entries.

The grand prize winner and runners up will be announced at noon on June 13th.

We'd love to hear from you - which videos did you like best?

Thanks to everyone who entered - best of luck to you!

Introducing our Forum

2008-05-30T11:17:00.002-05:00

Velocity Micro has just launched our new forum - designed for Velocity and Overdrive PC enthusiasts, customers, and the usual suspects. We invite you to join the community.

get the latest product news
meet fellow enthusiasts and find a place where everyone knows your name (your Cheers away from Cheers)
share scores, specs, and ideas
advise and get advice from the hardcore elite and the Velocity/ OPC team on anything under the proverbial sun
access to hot deals, contests, and free stuff!

the end is nigh!

2008-05-30T08:37:00.002-05:00

...for the video contest. The deadline is this Sunday (June 1)! We've seen some amazing entries. The level of creativity and technical skill are amazing - our current contestants have set a pretty high bar. Think you can beat it?

We'd like to see you try. Submit your video by June 1 to be in the running to win a ludicrous $10,000 gaming PC. Catch up on the official rules and more details here.

Get inspiration by checking out Randy's Velocity:

The best gets better

2008-05-13T10:16:00.002-05:00

Today I am very pleased and excited to announce the formal launch of Velocity Micro’s new Support Hub. We were very proud last year when our customers’ votes allowed us to receive PC Magazine’s Readers' Choice award for Best in Service and Reliability (beating out our bigger competitors and the smaller guys too). That recognition inspired us to work harder to continue to deliver the exceptional service that Velocity Micro customers have come to expect. We reached out to customers to find out how we could improve our service; solicited feedback from our employees on what tools we could provide to assist them in delivering best in class service; and the leadership team of Velocity Micro worked on defining what drives us as a company. Taking these three important inputs we created a mission statement for Velocity Micro:

“Velocity Micro designs, builds, and supports a superior PC experience through meticulous craftsmanship, focused attention to detail, and using the highest quality components. We create this experience for the joy of PC enthusiasts who appreciate the difference. We generate a fair profit for the benefit of our employees, shareholders, and the greater community.”

With a clear purpose we began the work of redefining the experience we wanted to share with customers. The extensive update to our website was the first step. The launch of our Support Hub is another important and exciting evolution in setting the standard for Best in Class Customer Service.

The Support Hub is a robust database of articles, tutorials, videos, and self help guides for customers. An extensive library of downloads, drivers, manuals, and diagnostic tools. A ticket management system that allows our customers to submit requests to Technical Support; check the real time status of requests; post comments directly into support tickets for our technicians to see; and have a history of contacts with technical support to reference. Internally we have also upgraded our contact management system so that our technicians have improved visibility on their tickets and better access to resources and support tools.

In the spirit of our mission statement the Support Hub has been launched to benefit our employees and most importantly our customers. We also wanted to give back to the PC Enthusiasts who have allowed us the privilege of being a part of their community. Unlike many support sites that only offer on-line support to their customers or charge subscription fees we have made the conscious choice to open 90% of our knowledge database to anyone with the common passion for PCs and technology. We hope the Support Hub will become a destination for our customers and enthusiasts alike to learn and share information.

Welcome to Velocity Micro Support where you can now call us, email us, submit a request online, or search our knowledge database for the latest information and support tips for your PC. We know our mission is ongoing and so we are committed to continuing to challenge ourselves to deliver the best in class support that our customers deserve.

our first video submission

2008-04-11T07:56:00.002-05:00

...comes from CEO Randy Copeland. Watch as Randy goes over the contest rules and prizes.

Check back for part 2 of Randy's video, when he shows us what's his velocity. In the meantime, get to work on your own video - the clock is ticking and we're looking forward to seeing your entry. Learn more about the contest by visiting our official contest home and by stopping by our YouTube contest page.

What's Your Velocity?

2008-04-10T15:07:00.001-05:00

Crozet Pizza may make the best damn pizza ever. Nestled in the Shenandoah mountains outside of Charlottesville, it’s a gemlike example of doing everything right. Until very recently, each pizza was made by the restaurant’s founder to order (in 2004, he passed the reins on to his daughter and son-in-law). Even takeout orders have to have reservations; the ingredients are simple but gourmet; the surroundings rustic and simple so as not to distract from center ring; and the service is excellent. Perfecting each element of the experience is something Crozet Pizza has down to an art and a science.

It serves as an inspiration. I see a lot of parallels with Velocity – being a part of something that’s working around the clock to deliver a more perfect experience to its customers – that’s why I love doing what I’m doing here at Velocity.

As amazing as Crozet Pizza is, it’s developed a quite loyal following. Autographed pictures of Muhammad Ali and other celebrities line the walls. But perhaps most amazing is Crozet Pizza’s power wall – covered with pictures of people wearing the Crozet Pizza t-shirt everywhere in the world – there’s even one of an astronaut in orbit holding up a Crozet Pizza t-shirt!

And that’s inspired us to launch the Velocity Micro video contest –show us "what's your velocity" - meaning what inspires you, drives you, makes you get out of bed in the morning. Check out our contest page, read up on the rules, and submit your video here! Submissions will be posted on our YouTube contest page. Grand prize winner will receive a $10,000 Velocity Micro Raptor Gaming PC. (check out the killer specs here)

So get cracking! Deadline is 6.1.2008.

Make Something Unreal

2008-04-03T16:22:00.004-05:00

Gamers get your big guns ready! Today Velocity Micro announced it is teaming up with Intel and Epic on the “$1 Million Intel Make Something Unreal Contest” (read the press release here). We’re very excited to be a part of this contest. We’re providing 5 of our Raptor™ Signature Editions for prizes (each valued at over $8,000)! These are our top of the line Skulltrail based ultra gaming PCs with dual Intel quad core processors and sweet nVidia 9800GX2 SLI graphics. And we’ll be sitting on the judging panel for the first stage of competition.

We invite all gamers and enthusiasts to enter the contest - register at the official contest page. It’s a great contest and we’re very proud to team up with Intel and Epic to make this happen. Learn more about the contest and the prize PCs by checking out our contest headquarters.

Velocity Video

2008-03-27T09:36:00.004-05:00

Velocity Video has launched. We're just dipping our toes into this crazy new medium and would love your feedback as we continue to explore.

This first video shows one gamer's quest to dominate his arch enemy.

And this documentary depicts possible side effects of a Velocity Micro PC on domestic tranquility.

Coming soon - the Velocity Micro video contest...

Velocity Micro Affiliate Program Updates

2008-03-03T17:21:00.003-05:00

Most people visiting Velocity Micro are shopping for a new kick butt PC. And we hope that's you! But some folks come by to see how much money they are making from us -- that's right, making money from Velocity Micro! How? By being a member of our affiliate program. They joined our Velocity Micro Affiliate Program and recommend our PCs on their Facebook sites, MySpace sites or other personal websites. You can do it, too!

When someone buys a system from us that you recommended our way, we pay you commissions starting at 3% of the total purchase! We have affiliates earning $1,000's monthly - just by helping us spread the word about our award winning, high performance PCs.

When you sign up, you get a personal account center. This area grants you access to custom banners and text ads you can put up on the web with a simple piece of copy/paste code. Anyone clicking on them from your site is credited to you when they buy! Another cool thing is if someone clicks on your link - then joins our affiliate program like you did - they become a 'sub-affiliate' to you. You earn 25% of the commission they generate themselves from any and all links and banners they put up on their own sites.

Direct Referral Example: Someone clicks a banner on your site and buys a $2,500 PC from us. We pay you $75.00!
Sub-Affiliate Referral Example: You recommend someone to us who becomes an affiliate. Then, someone they have visiting their site clicks a banner to us - and buys a $2,500 PC from us. Your sub-affiliate earns $75.00 -- and YOU earn 25% of that: $18.75

Everyone likes extra cash in their pockets - this even gives you a way to earn your way to a new Velocity Micro PC. So, if you have a site or two, join the affiliate program and get your site earning money for you!

There's something different...

2008-02-22T15:26:00.003-05:00

Peering around the site lately, something is definitely different...

The creative team has just launched a new look and feel for the website. Our goal is to make it even easier to find what you're looking for (check out our new search feature) - whether that's your next killer gaming computer or more information about the latest barrier-breaking technology, and to line up the experience of browsing VelocityMicro.com with the experience of owning and using a Velocity Micro PC - fast, stunning, and exhilarating (perhaps a tall order for a website - but we like to think we've come as close as possible. We've already mastered this in the PC space). While I won't steal the thunder of upcoming enhancements to the site - and we have a lot of exciting additions coming - I can say that these innovations will allow a higher degree of interaction with Velocity and much more opportunity for user-generated input than we have previously had. So be sure to check back frequently (why not sign up for our newsletter?).

Ultimately, our goal is for VelocityMicro.com to become the destination for gamers, enthusiasts, and users searching for the perfect PC experience - whether you're buying one today or checking in to learn more.

*let us know what you think of the new design. add your comments below and help us shape the new look of VelocityMicro.com

Leaving Las Vegas

2008-01-11T16:22:00.001-05:00

I made the trip back from that diamond in the desert yesterday and have started settling back into the usual chaos and excitement that is Velocity.

It was a great trip, though I wish I had had more time to spend on the show floor. If you're a regular of this blog, you know that I'm a techie at heart. I could happily spend the entire four days scouring the show floor and getting up close and personal with the latest tech innovations. Alas.

Our meetings with vendors and the press were extremely satisfying. While all I can do is tantalize you at the moment with visions of things to come, I can promise you that you won't be disappointed with what you see coming from Velocity in 2008. Look for the benchmarks to be ridiculously surpassed in gaming - all shapes and sizes. And prepare for mobility to be redefined in the fall.

Resolutions for next CES? More time on the floor, more frequent updates on the blog, wowing you once again with what Velocity has up its sleeve.

Inside the Velocity suite

2008-01-10T10:41:00.001-05:00

We've received a lot of questions about what we've had on display during our CES sojourn. While some of it is still under NDA, I can tell you about the fun new stuff we were showing off (and then I'll have to kill you...)

First, it wouldn't be a Velocity Micro event without gaming. We had three gaming rigs out here in Vegas - the first is our Edge M40, an AMD-based system with NVIDIA graphics in a SLI-ready configuration. The new Spider version of this is still under development, but start looking for it early next month. The next two gaming PCs on display redefine the label. First up we had an Overdrive model featuring Intel's new Skulltrail motherboard, two quad core processors, tri-SLI (that's three 8800 series NVIDIA graphics cards) and two 64GB solid state hard drives in raid array with a back up 7200 rpm drive. When you see this come out in the coming weeks, expect to pay more for it than you did for your first car. But as Mario will tell you, as one of the fastest gaming systems in the world, it's worth every penny. And lastly, we debuted our latest version of the Raptor Signature Edition - founder Randy Copeland's blueprint for the absolute best gaming experience bar none. The Raptor features tri-SLI, quad core processing, solid state hard drives with a 1TB backup drive - everything you need for the most immersive, responsive gaming.

We also demonstrated our new MX2 chassis for our home and office PCs. The MX2 is a micro ATX case, which means it uses a motherboard that's significantly smaller than what you typically see from Velocity Micro. It fits perfectly under a desk or in a cabinet (though I'm sure I could never understand why you would want to hide beauty like that). We built a Vector Z20 in the new black MX2 with an Intel-based configuration. Starting at $899, the Vector Z20 is a great home office PC the whole family can use.

The CineMagix Grand Theater system was one of the most popular PCs we displayed in the suite, capturing everyone's attention and bringing some really interesting discussion to the challenge of accelerating the digital home convergence. The CineMagix acts as an entertainment server - streaming content throughout the house, with up to four cable cards - gaming PC (game from the comfort of your living room, on a display that's even bigger than your LCD (unless you're Randy and use a 60" display for everything), home office system, and control center for home automation. We're extremely excited by the growth we've experienced in this category and can't wait to unleash some of our new designs for this PC in the coming year.

Lastly, we populated the entire suite with notebooks - including some from our current lineup like the C90 and some new offerings that we expect to launch very soon. Gaming notebooks and performance laptops are a major focus for 2008 - look for amazing design, sleek performance, and the reliability you've come to expect from Velocity Micro.

CES 2008 - Day 2

2008-01-09T11:24:00.000-05:00

There is really only one word for CES – wow! I haven’t even had a chance to drop by the convention center yet and I can’t get over how amazing everything is. We have seen everything from new HD monitors to the slickest notebook designs to some amazing gadgets and gizmos for home theater systems. We’ve had some extremely productive and interesting meetings with the press, industry analysts, and vendors.

There are a number of new ultra performance Velocity Micro products on the horizon that are debuting here that we can’t wait to unveil. From extreme gaming to the ultimate in mobile tech, these products are simply stunning. Hope you’re holding onto your socks, because they’re about to be knocked off.

I’m looking forward to today where I’m going to be spending a lot of time hitting the convention floor. Right now, my Geek Sense is just buzzing. Expect a lengthier update soon as I continue to check out more of the new products and gadgets that I can’t take my mind off of.

CES 2008 - first day

2008-01-08T12:22:00.000-05:00

Velocity Micro is at CES. My apologies to those who were checking in for the first post yesterday and were disappointed - after 11 meetings and then the vendor soirees, the window for witty cogent writing closed. But not to fear - you will be getting the latest from the show floor and environs throughout the rest of the show - please check back in for updates every few hours.

CES seems to get crazier every year. It's the industry's largest trade show with some 150,000 attendees cramming into over a million square feet of convention space, showing and checking out everything from the new Sony OLED (3mm thick) to car audio innovations and robotic gorilla heads. Then there's the meeting and greeting, wheeling and dealing, and wining and dining that really drive the show.

We're frequently asked why Velocity Micro does not have a booth on the show floor. It's a very simple answer - the primary reason to get a booth is to attract new customers. Given our outstanding partnerships with Circuit City and Best Buy, we're not interested in expanding our retail presence - and since the show is industry only, we're not seeing direct customers either. So for us CES is about meeting with the press and our vendor partners. To facilitate this, we've got a suite at the Bellagio where we are conducting meetings (the only reason we can get 12 meetings a day in - as any veteran can tell you, cab lines are not for the faint of heart and transportation time between the strip and the convention center can easily run over an hour). It gives us an opportunity to demo some of our most exciting products and have very meaningful meetings.

Up next - a word from our president and one geek's take on CES 2008.

*for more information about Velocity Micro at CES - including our contact information and the systems we're showcasing - please visit here.

NetMagix HQ HomeServer Launches!

2007-11-05T11:30:00.000-05:00

We have launched our newest product, the Velocity Micro NetMagix HQ HomeServer. This product finally brings the power of a full server into your home - with a really slick chassis design, very easy setup, and really cool features. Here's what you can do with your own HomeServer:

Centralized Backup - Allows backup up to 10 PCs, using Single Instance Store technology to avoid multiple copies of the same file, even if that file exists on multiple PCs.
Health Monitoring - Can centrally track the health of all PCs on the network, including antivirus and firewall status.
File Sharing - Offers network shares for computers to store the files remotely, acting as a network-attached storage device. Separate categories are provided for common file types like Documents, Music, Pictures and Videos. The files are indexed for fast searching.
Printer Sharing - Allows a centralized print server to handle print jobs for all users.
Previous Versions - Takes advantage of Volume Shadow Copy Services to take point in time snapshots that allow older versions of files to be recovered.
Headless Operation - No monitor or keyboard attached to the device itself, much like a firewall or router.
Remote administration - Provides a client UI to remotely perform administrative tasks. Also allows Remote Desktop connections to the server.
Remote Access Gateway - Allows access to any PC on the network from outside the home.
Media Streaming - Can stream media to a Xbox 360 or other devices supporting Windows Media Connect.
Data redundancy - Guards against a single drive failure by duplicating data across multiple drives.
Expandable Storage - Provides a unified single and easily expandable storage space, removing the need for drive letters.
Extensibility through Add-Ins - Add-Ins allow third-party developers to extend the features and functionality of the server. Add-Ins can be developed using the Windows Home Server SDK, to provide additional services to the client computers or work with the data already on the server. Add-Ins can also be ASP.NET applications, hosted in IIS 6 running on WHS.

Order yours today! If you have any questions, just give Velocity Micro sales a call at 800-303-7866 or chat online. (Microsoft has a great blog on WHS, check it out, too)

Velocity Micro Product Development Update

2007-09-26T13:41:00.000-05:00

At Velocity Micro, we have a plethora of new products in the lab that we can’t wait to launch. For those of you that don’t know, I am the new Product Development Manager here at VM. I have been with the company for a year now, and most of that time has been spent working in the Product Development Department.

I look forward to the incredible potential we have to create a diverse product line and provide those offerings to a unique set of customers. One of the challenges we face, and have excelled at over the past months and years, is the ability to cater to the main stream market while retaining our reputation with the enthusiast crowd. We have a number of products releasing in the months ahead that will tie our product lines together and merge sectors of the market that have previously been isolated – it’s all VERY exciting. As this is my inaugural blog post, I will give you an update on our newest product in the lab – Windows Home Server.

Windows Home Server is by far the one product that has me eagerly awaiting its release. Home Server carries a big punch in a small package; it will give you the ability to control your entire household from a central location, and even has remote control capabilities. Here is a brief run-down of the features:

- Organize your information in one central place

- Automatic daily backups of your home PCs

- Ability to restore lost files or an entire PC

- Access all files on your Home Server from any networked PC in your house

- Share photos and home videos through a personalized web address

(for example: velocitymicro.homeserver.com)

- Easy and quick setup

- Expandable storage space for future use

We will be introducing many more products in the following months that will definitely make you drool. Keep the blog bookmarked and check back regularly as we will have more in depth updates on each of them!