I realize this may be an unpopular opinion, but I liked Windows 7 back in the day before we switched to Ubuntu when I worked at Amazon. I haven't ever really been a big fan of Linux personally.
Software, SaaS, & Servers
The Monthly Stack: Mid-Year Check-In
Discussion
Halfway through the year is a good time for small businesses to pause and ask: Is our tech still helping us move forward, or is it creating friction?
A few questions worth asking:
👉 What’s working well?
👉 What’s slowing the team down?
👉 What should we invest in next?
Quick question:
What’s your top tech priority for the second half of the year?
💻 Hardware refresh
☁️ Cloud/storage
🔐 Security
⚙️ Automation
👥 Training/support
Drop your answer below — curious to see where other SMB leaders are focusing next. 👇
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Working on making our data recording and analysis process more automated.
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How Recovery-Ready Is Your Business?
Discussion
Can your business recover quickly if something goes down?
For many small and growing businesses, it’s not just about having the right technology in place—it’s about knowing how quickly you can bounce back when systems fail, files get deleted, or downtime hits.
As teams plan ahead, a few important questions come up:
👉 What systems could your business not afford to lose?
👉 Are your backups actually being tested?
👉 Where should you invest now—and where can you wait?
Quick question:
What part of backup and recovery gets the most attention in your business right now?
💾 Data backups
🖥 Server recovery
☁️ Cloud app protection
🔐 Ransomware readiness
Drop your thoughts below—let’s compare notes. 👇
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The business is certainly covered, lots of redundancy. My personal raid array however... that still isn't fully covered.
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How are you dealing with subscription software?
Discussion
Now that software developers seem to be moving away from selling software to licensing it, I was wondering how everyone is dealing with it. Are you just paying the annual license? Have you moved to free software (usually with ads)? Or are you continuing to use old software that you purchased even though security updates have ended?
You could say that I am not a fan of the subscription software model.
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I hate not having the option for a lifetime license for lightroom and other adobe products, but its a necessary evil for being a photographer. Otherwise, I do hate not owning software. I just cant avoid it unfortunately.
That's another "not my department" as afar as work software subscriptions go. But I do recall that some of our finance and accounting software is proprietary. Makes we wonder how the cost of that measures against subscribing to another solution or contracting it out.
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Choosing the Right UPS for your Lenovo ThinkServer System
Discussion
Hello
I found the following document to be quire informative!
Choosing the Right UPS for your Lenovo ThinkServer System
I hope you do as well!
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Anthony
Hello Judith
Thank you for the extremely detailed response.👍 💯
I've known about each of these companies for quite some time, though I've mostly dealt with APC (now owned by Schneider Electric) for your basic UPS for home systems.
I've been speaking with Technical support at each of the companies and the comparison chart I've been developing is quite similar.
Here's the thing I find most annoying when researching suitable products: none of the companies actually specify THD values for their devices. So, when I ask the sales engineer about that, they have to put me on hold while researching that value...😔
I don't see why they don't just put that in the published technical specifications. 🤔
I'll post my final choice along with the supporting reasons.
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Anthony
APC Smart-UPS series
Eaton 5P / 9PX
CyberPower PR series
I use the APC Smart UPS series. Here is why!
APC Smart-UPS
The gold standard for server room deployments. Pure sine wave output across the line, excellent ThinkServer compatibility, and deep software integration via PowerChute Network Shutdown for graceful automated shutdowns. Management cards (AP9635 and newer) give you SNMP, web UI, and email alerts. Hot-swappable batteries on most models. The main drawback is price — you pay a premium for the brand — and battery replacement costs are higher than competitors. That said, ecosystem maturity and widespread IT familiarity make it the lowest-friction choice.
Eaton 5P / 9PX
Eaton is widely considered the #1 leading supplier of power backup systems globally, and it shows in ThinkServer environments. The 9PX series, in particular, is a double-conversion online model (vs. Smart-UPS line-interactive on most models), meaning zero transfer time during an outage — a real advantage for sensitive server workloads. The 5P is a line-interactive UPS well-suited for small business IT setups at a lower price point. Eaton's Intelligent Power Manager software is comparable to PowerChute. The trade-off is a higher upfront cost for the 9PX and slightly less ubiquitous support in mixed IT environments than APC.
CyberPower PR Series
CyberPower's Smart App Sinewave line provides pure sine wave output, making it appropriate for servers and networking devices, and the PR series is their rack-focused enterprise line. Their solutions support battery capacities of 350–10,000 VA, covering most ThinkServer configurations. PowerPanel Business software handles automated shutdown similarly to PowerChute. The clear advantage is price — often 20–30% less than equivalent APC units. The tradeoff is that enterprise IT support teams are less familiar with it, and long-term reliability data in heavy-use server environments is thinner than that of APC or Eaton.
Quick Comparison for ThinkServer Use
Feature
APC Smart-UPS
Eaton 5P/9PX
CyberPower PR
Sine Wave Output
✅ Pure
✅ Pure
✅ Pure
Topology
Line-interactive
Line-interactive / Online
Line-interactive
Transfer Time
~4ms
0ms (9PX)
~4ms
Management Software
PowerChute
Intelligent Power Mgr
PowerPanel Business
SNMP Card Support
✅ Excellent
✅ Excellent
✅ Good
Hot-swap Batteries
✅ Yes
✅ Yes
✅ Yes
Price
$$$
$$$–$$$$
$$
Enterprise Track Record
Excellent
Excellent
Good
Bottom line for ThinkServer: I am happy with APC, so there's no compelling reason to switch — the ecosystem is mature and well-supported. If you want zero transfer time for critical uptime, the Eaton 9PX is worth the premium. If budget is a priority and you're comfortable doing your own due diligence on support, CyberPower PR delivers solid value.
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Is anyone running an actual server in their home?
Discussion
Just wondering if anyone is running an actual server OS in their home?
Windows? Linux? Other?
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I do a combination of servers, mainly Linux these days, on Odd occasions I'll use VMs on a Windows box when KVM's complexity becomes too much to handle.
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What They Don't Tell You When Everyone Is Raving About OpenClaw and Mac Minis from a layman point of view
Discussion
Here’s an honest, plain-English breakdown for someone running a content business on a Mac mini — not a developer.
GitHub Risks (Relatively Low for Content Creators)
GitHub on its own is fairly safe for non-developers, but there are a few things to know:
What you’re actually exposed to:
If you store documents, course materials, or proprietary content in a public GitHub repo by accident, it’s permanently visible to the world — and competitors.
If API keys or passwords are pushed to GitHub, bots will instantly compromise those credentials.
Downloading and running someone else’s code from GitHub without understanding it is the real risk — that’s where OpenClaw comes in.
Bottom line on GitHub alone: Low risk if you’re using it just to store files privately or follow instructions. The danger mostly comes from using GitHub, not GitHub itself.
OpenClaw Risks (Significant for Non-Technical Users)
Transitioning to OpenClaw quickly escalates the risks. The research paints a very clear picture for someone who isn’t a developer:
OpenClaw runs on your device, unlike browser-based AI chat tools. Its agents interact with your operating system, potentially having user or administrative permissions.
The skills/extension marketplace is dangerous:
Koi Security found that 341 of 2,857 skills on ClawHub were malicious, 335 of which were part of a campaign spreading AMOS malware targeting macOS data. OpenClaw docs say 17–20% of community skills contain malicious code.
One critical vulnerability has already happened:
A critical flaw found in January 2026 (CVE-2026-25253, CVSS 8.8) allowed attackers to get remote code execution and full local access. Though patched, it shows the speed and danger of vulnerabilities.
Your API keys are stored in a risky way:
Your API keys for Anthropic, OpenAI, or whatever LLM provider you picked are stored in plaintext JSON under ~/.openclaw/. mDNS also automatically broadcasts the gateway’s existence to every device on the local network, including TXT records that leak filesystem paths. Palo Alto Networks called it a “lethal trifecta”: access to private data, exposure to untrusted content, and the ability to communicate externally.
The gateway exposure risk is real:
42,665 OpenClaw instances were found sitting on the open internet in a single Shodan scan. Of those, 93.4% had auth bypasses. Eight had no protection at all — no password, no token, full shell access to anyone who typed in the IP address.
Even one of its own maintainers said:
“If you can’t understand how to run a command line, this is far too dangerous a project for you to use safely.”
What This Means Specifically for a Small Business
For your business, the stakes are real:
Your email credentials may have been harvested by a malicious actor.
Any proprietary business materials could be read and exfiltrated from a Mac mini.
Claude/Anthropic API keys could be stolen and used, resulting in charges to an account.
An AI agent with file access could delete or corrupt your .docx files — there are documented cases of OpenClaw bots deleting emails without user direction.
The Honest Recommendation
Right now, OpenClaw simply isn’t a safe fit for your content business. The potential risks outweigh the benefits. Stick with proven options like Zapier and running Claude with existing integrations — these deliver secure workflow automation without exposing the entire system. In my opinion, protect what you’ve built by choosing tools that prioritize safety.
If you’re ever absolutely set on experimenting with OpenClaw, only do so on a completely separate Mac mini — never your primary business machine. Keep all business files, accounts, and credentials completely isolated. Prioritize security to protect your work and reputation. Possibly use a separate VPN; it might be less of a risk.
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Thanks for sharing this - I wish I had an old Mac mini to experiment with it myself. Coding 101: always protect your environment variables 🙃
There are some pretty serious risks to giving something autonomous that level of access, especially when the actions it can perform are built on external code the 'creators' of which aren't always fully validated. It looks like Nvidia is already working to put some security in place: Nvidia bets on OpenClaw, but adds a security layer - how NemoClaw works | ZDNET
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Microsoft Windows Server O/S vs. Standard Windows O/S
Understanding servers can be challenging and confusing, especially when you have bigger fish to fry (tax time anyone?).
So, Microsoft Windows Server O/S vs. Standard Windows O/S (PC): What's the difference? Why would someone need it?
Not to sound sarcastic, but you need a Server O/S to serve multiple clients. With Windows 10 and pervious version of Windows client OS you are limited on the number of incoming connection to between 10 and 20 depending on the version. With a server OS I think you are limited by your hardware. Some of the services that are on a server OS are not available on a client OS (DHCP, DNS, Active Directory.) Server can be your domain controller to have centralized security and permissions management. Client OS is what is in front of the end user. It is not as complicated as server OS and it has features that server does not. Client OS will have support for some devices that server does not, one example is graphics cards. Most servers have integrated graphics and no place to install a graphics card.
This should help understand the difference, + everything Ray said ;)
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Feeling the squeeze on the basics?
Discussion
As we move through Q1, a lot of growing businesses are being squeezed given industry shortages on core components like memory and storage. When it’s harder to get the basics, it can slow down everyday plans—setting up that first or next server, expanding file storage, improving backups, or rolling out a new line‑of‑business app.
How are you adjusting?
Stretching existing hardware a bit longer? Cleaning up old data and unused apps?
Locking in your investment and buying smaller configs now and planning to upgrade later?
Exploring alternatives such as cloud storage or SaaS instead of adding local capacity?
Question: Has this supply squeeze changed how you plan IT projects this year—and what’s one move that’s helping you stay on track?
Drop your thoughts below—your approach might help another small business figure it out. 👇
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It's always been my habit to make a thing last as long as possible. When I do finally get replacements, I tend to go for the current mid-range level of gear. If the market is off kilter when I need to upgrade, I just suck it up.
Its been the same for a few years, though it has gotten a bit worse lately. The business has its usual upgrade cycles, and my personal schedule is always a bit longer.
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What ERP software do you use?
Discussion
ERP software is very valuable to organizations. We currently use Epicor, and it has been working great for us. What do you all in the community use?
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OS Preference - 2021
Discussion
What is your preferred operating system and why?
We compiled your responses and this is what you said. Thank you for all your entries!
The September 2021 giveaway has ended and any further response will not be considered an entry to the giveaway post 9/30/2021.
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(On the Windows end), Windows 7.
It was still an OS made for the user, where the user had control.
Current OS are only nothing then a data gathering tool.
Work computers are primarily Windows, along with some Macs that are used by our desgin team. At home I use Ubuntu and like it very much.
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SMB tech leaders: where’s your next big bet?
Discussion
AI adoption among small businesses has jumped 40%+ year over year, with over half now using AI for marketing, customer service, and operations. At the same time, IT budgets are shifting hard toward AI, cloud, and cybersecurity, while AI-driven attacks are getting more automated and harder to spot.
If you got a 10% bump in your 2026 IT budget, where would you invest first — and why?
A) AI & automation
B) Cybersecurity
C) Cloud / infrastructure optimization
D) Skills & training for your team
Drop your letter (and your reasoning) in the comments 👇 — let’s see where SMBs are really placing their chips for next year.
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There is a definitive "tortoise and the hare" aspect to the adoption of new tech that comes onto the market. Some people spend so much time trying to make use of every new tech trend that they end up weighing themselves down and create far more complications for themselves than what would exist if that had merely stayed with their old way of doing things.
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What Are Your Can't Live Without Applications
Discussion
I am adding additional programs to our repertoire of offerings for our virtual assistant service. What applications/programs can you not live without in your business?
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Everything.
Very simple in concept.
And it's simply an incredible piece of software.
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Who Uses Firefox?
Discussion
I have been using Firefox (and it's previous iterations) as my only web browser for well over 20 years and have never run into any major issues with web site support. Recently, my local utility (PG&E) made an "update" to their site and now explicitly do not support Firefox (blank web pages and a message saying they only support Chrome and Edge on Windows). Are there any other Firefox users out there and have you found had issues with any other web site?
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SeaMonkey is my brower.
Though I use FF where SM does not work.
That said, it is a Chrome world. Standards are no longer. Chrome is the only browser that one programs for these days. And so it is.
If FF did not work on a site I frequent, I simply would not frequent that site - period. (Now, SeaMonkey, I expect it to not work on many sites, so that it may not work everywhere, I'm not concerned about.)
User here, for approximately 10 years. Every so often, I encounter this issue. Typically, I stop visiting the site. However, if it's a site I absolutely need to access, like a local utility, I switch to one of my other browsers, which I keep as secure as possible.
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which cloud would you pick
Discussion
I'm thinking of pursuing a data engineering certificate in one of the main cloud providers, i.e. AWS, GCP or Azure.
I'm pretty blank so far in each of them, and would like to get the certificate to increase my employability. What would you recommend I pick?
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Good on you.
You might look at job and/or promotion prospects to help you decide. Is there a likelihood of one (or more) of these opening some doors in your area?
And keep all your ancillary skills & certs current.
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Thoughts on VMware Pricing: Are you considering switching to Proxmox VE?
VMware/ESXi vs Proxmox VE
I watched the above video, over a month ago. At the time, I wanted to write this discussion topic.
Better late than never? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
To be honest, I have not used VMware for over a decade. For the past decade, very few of my clients require virtualization. When they do, they use KVM + qemu—just like Proxmox VE. Not surprising, as Proxmox VE is based on Debian server—very similar to the server distributions of Linux used by my clients.
I have a little experience with Proxmox VE. And I would like to convert my most powerful laptop—a Lenovo Legion Pro—into a portable Virtual Environment. But, I've been procrastinating. To do it right, I should really upgrade my system memory and expand my storage.
Do you have any experience with VMware's pricing? Recently?
I look forward to your reply. Cheers!
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I am very upset about the price increase, as a homelab user, VMware vSphere/ESXi 9 is now impossible for me to afford. I guess i’ll stick with vSphere/ESXi 8 U3 for now, but I am going to have to switch to Proxmox VE or xcp-ng soon. I really want something that has AMD-SEV support (AMD-SEV encrypts individual VM’s RAM/Memory, so other VMs and even the hypervisor can’t read it, incase it is hacked, each VMs memory is encrypted separately and has its own encryption key.) Does anyone know if Proxmox or xcp-ng supports this?
We used a consultant to help us purchase and install a server in 2013. They installed a free version of VMware EXSI. In 2015, we purchased our first Lenovo server, a Lenovo ThinkServer RD650, and used Hyper-V instead of EXSI. We chose Hyper-V because it didn't have all the limitations that the free edition of EXSI had. Shortly after that, we migrated our EXSI to Hyper-V and never looked back.
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Lenovo Servers
I am going to have to purchase a new server in the next couple of months. Other than one unfortunate purchase of an HP server, I have always used Dell servers. They have always run for years with almost 100% uptime. I have been happy with the Lenovo laptops and desktop I have purchase over the last 5 years so I am going to look at Lenovo servers. Anyone that has experience with them, please tell me the good, the bad, and the ugly. I will never purchase another HP server again. They had proprietary firmware on the hard drives. If you bought the exact same hard drive direct from the manufacturer, instead of HP (at three times the price), it would make all of the fans run at 100% all the time.
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I know it’s an old post, but I am also in the market for a new server and am considering a Lenovo ThinkSystem. I too have previously only used Dell servers, but they are just too expensive, they charge WAY too much for RAM and storage options, much more than Lenovo. I have heard pretty good things about Lenovo’s servers, and have done a lot of research. One of the most compelling reasons to go with Lenovo, according to ITIC’s test data, is they have been the most reliable x86-based servers for 11 years in a row! More reliable than Dell and HPE by a lot.
I have been very happy with Lenovo servers. I did not have a good experience with HP servers and the support I got. I have ordered five separate servers in the past 9 years from CDW(2) and Lenovo (3). Three are rack-mounted servers (ThinkServer RD650 and 2 ThinkSystem SR635) and two tower-servers (ThinkServer TS140 & ThinkSystem ST50 V2). I have installed third-party SSD drives our SR635 and RD650 without any issues. The two SR635 and ST50 V2 all have RAM from Lenovo. The earlier ones were Crucial RAM. The price difference was $50-100 for Lenovo vs Crucial RAM so I just opted for Lenovo and not worry.
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🚨 Windows Server 2025 Refresh Is Here!
Discussion
With mainstream support winding down for older versions, many businesses are asking tough questions:
👉 How do we modernize without disrupting operations?
👉 What workloads move to the cloud, and what stays on-prem?
👉 How do we budget for both licensing and infrastructure updates?
Question for you:
What steps is your organization taking to ensure a smooth transition to Windows Server 2025?
Drop your thoughts and strategies below—let’s share ideas and best practices. 👇
Sounds like I'm gonna have to brush up on Windows Server administration and security. Good to know.
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🔐 October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month!
Discussion
As threats evolve, so must your infrastructure. Many organizations are strengthening defenses before year-end — tightening access controls, patching vulnerabilities, and rethinking hybrid security strategies.
Quick question:
👉 How are you balancing stronger security with performance and cost efficiency?
👉 What tools or strategies give you the most peace of mind?
Drop your thoughts below — let’s crowdsource smart security moves for 2025. 👇
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Was notified today about a cyber security "incident" at BCBS where tons of personal data was stolen. But the attack occurred over a year ago. Why did it take so long to tell us? I wonder too why there is not some culpability on the part of those entrusted to keep the data -- that they require we provide -- safe. The business, the software company, the internet provider would likely have much better security if they were held liable for breaches to my information
I am doing what I can to learn about online safety. I have been researching articles and watching some videos. By following some of the information I've found, I believe my system is safer and more secure.
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Storage solutions
Discussion
How do you store your data? Hard drives, SANs, a NAS, cloud storage? Cloud storage is convenient but I don't like not really owning my own storage solutions. I recently completed an archiving project that depended on 100GB M-discs and blu-ray discs, but that was a special case for long term storage. I also have an ITX PC I built out into a NAS, and an external dock for two more hard drives.
Windows 10 EoS: Community Q&A
Discussion
It's almost time! As Windows 10 EoS comes around the corner (October 14th), we wanted to check in and see how you are prepping. For your IT fleet or your one-person show, do you have any questions?
Want to hear how others are preparing and their experiences?
Drop questions below and learn from the community in this Windows EoS Community Q&A.
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Luckily for me, my PCs came with Windows 11, so Windows 10 isn’t really on my mind. Hopefully everyone else is ready though!
I've tried 11 twice and went back to 10 both times. I'm gonna hate shifting permanently.
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SFF builds
Discussion
Have any of yall looked at enthusiast small form factor builds? Not From Concentrate made some that are fantastic.
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Ci sto pensado che il prosimo pc mi conviene fose un SFF, gotta reduce the costs
I've been leaning towards SFF for a while now. Just kind of tired of the full size rigs lately. And with our more modern mobo's you really don't often need many add-on cards, so you can have a smaller package while still having great functionality.
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Windows 10 support ending Oct. 14 for US - Are you ready?
Discussion
What do you do when support for an application is sunsetted?
For Windows 10 support, are you ready to self-support by October 14th or update to Win 11? There is an assessment you can take to check your readiness 🦾
▶️ Assessment
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I've updated my laptop to windows 11 but I really wish I hadn't. Windows 10 always felt like a downgrade from 7, and 11 is more of that with extra little annoyances and inconveniences.
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Why You Should Absolutely use Absolute Software
Video
Why you Absolutely need Absolute Software!!!
#TwoMinuteTechTalk #WeAreLenovo #AbsoluteSoftware
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Firmware based security is cool but makes me a bit nervous because it's technically a backdoor pre-programmed into my computer. I've played around in bios settings a lot but never enabled it.
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Does Anyone have any experience with Camtasia?
Discussion
I was thinking about purchasing Camtasia for video editing. I have read reviews that go both ways. Just wanted to get some more insite. Thanks.
I would probably go with DaVinci Resolve instead. And bonus that it's free!
https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/nl/products/davinciresolve
Here's a list of some other good free and open source video editing software as well:
CapCut (Browser, Windows, Android, iOS)
DaVinci Resolve (Windows, Mac, Linux)
Kapwing (Browser)
Kdenlive (Windows, Mac, Linux)
Olive (Windows, Mac, Linux)
OpenShot (Windows, Mac, Linux)
Shotcut (Windows, Mac, Linux)
I do not have any experience with Camtasia myself. I have used OpenShot and have been very happy with it!
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Engage in software, software as a service (SaaS) and server topics as you chat about vendors, evaluate service providers, compare applications, and beyond.
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