CablesAndKits Blog

In This Issue: 20 Days of Giving: Day 6 | HDMI 2.0 Cable w/ Gold Plated Connectors, Male/Male | News to Start Your Day

---

Today we celebrate the most widely used library classification system, the Dewey Decimal System. Did you know this system has been used since 1876? It has now been translated into 30 different languages but still stands strong across the world. 

---

The CK Daily – 20 Days of Giving: Day 6

Happy Friday CK Family! Cris Anzai here – and I’m excited to share the organization I’m giving to this holiday season. I’ve been with CablesAndKits for almost 7 years and love being part of the team and the many giving efforts.

I have chosen to give my CK team donation to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. This is an amazing Hospital that I’m pretty sure saved the life of my daughter. They have a wonderful staff from receptionists, food services, to doctors and nurses. They are consistently ranked among the top children’s hospitals and provide lifesaving medical programs that have helped treat kids with complex childhood illnesses from all around the world.

If you’ve been positively impacted by this organization, I’d love to hear your story!

---

Product Spotlights & Updates:

Today we’re taking a closer look at the HDMI 2.0 Cable w/ Gold Plated Connectors, Male/Male. This high-speed HDMI v2.0. is the perfect solution for connecting your entertainment devices such as cable boxes, BlueRay players, computers, or any other device with an HDMI port. These high-speed cables also allow you to achieve 4K resolution at 60Hz! 

---

Learning Center Article – Crossover vs Straight-through Ethernet

Do you know the difference between crossover and straight-through ethernet? Ethernet patch cables usually come in two different main wiring configurations – Straight-Through and Crossover. Your specific need or the application will determine which type of cable would be best for what you are trying to achieve in your network, home office, or data center setup.

Learn more about the difference between crossover and straight-through ethernet in the CK Learning Center.

---

In This Issue: 20 Days of Giving: Day 5 | Cisco Catalyst 2960C Series Switch, 8 Port | News to Start Your Day

---

Today is National Christmas Card Day! Today serves as a reminder to get your stamps, envelopes, and cards together so you can share your holiday cheer. Are you sending a Christmas card this year? We’d love to see it!

---

The CK Daily – 20 Days of Giving: Day 5

Who do we give to?

As you’ve probably heard discussed here before, we desire to positively impact the lives of others through our business. We desire and purpose to build good relationships with our team members, and we strive to maintain those relationships even if we part ways. Team members leaving is an inevitable part of business. In our experience, keeping a connection with those no longer on the team often leads to seeing them land in some exciting new adventures. Case and point: our first organizational highlight, Freedom Path Counseling.

Freedom Path was founded by Chad, a former CK team member, and his wife, Heidi. Chad served as our Warehouse Manager for several years. He left to pursue another opportunity and a few years after that, he and his wife founded Freedom Path. They offer a variety of counseling services on a “pay what you can afford” model subsidized through donations. They serve the same area where the CK office and many of our team members are located. We love what they do, love watching them grow, and that we get to support them in serving our shared community.

Christin 

---

Product Spotlight & Updates:

Let’s take a closer look at the Catalyst 2960CG Series! These are a line of fixed-configuration, enterprise-class switches with Gigabit Ethernet configurations. The Cisco Catalyst 2960CG is an ideal access layer switch for small enterprise LAN access or branch-office enabling the deployment of applications such as IP telephony, wireless access, video surveillance, building management systems, and remote video kiosks Small form factor and fanless operation will allow this unit to fit in confined spaces where multiple cable runs would not be optimal.

This switch is also easy to deploy and manage and supports advanced security services that include voice, video, and Cisco Borderless Network Services. Pretty sweet, right? 

---

Learning Center Article – What is Switch Stacking & Why is it Important?

There are countless ways to design a network and meet the criteria it needs to follow. Not all of these methods will be as efficient or affordable as others. That’s why network administrators are constantly learning new concepts.

Switch stacking is commonly used in high-end networking, but many small and medium businesses are missing out on the technique. Taking a minute to learn more about it could reveal a better way to run your network that saves time and money while improving network functionality.

---

In This Issue: 20 Days of Giving: Day 4 | HDMI to DVI-D Cable w/ Latched Gold Plated Connectors | News to Start Your Day

---

Alright, let’s settle this debate. Who has the best brownie recipe on the market? Today is National Brownie Day and if that’s not a reason to bake up your best pan of brownies, I don’t know what is. We’d love for you to share your recipes – send them to us so we can give them a try!

---

The CK Daily – 20 Days of Giving: Day 4

Our Giving Goal

2021 has been a good year for us for many reasons. I have joked with a few people that it only took 20 years for us to get it right, haha. But it truly does feel like we’ve been able to take a lifetime of lessons and hard-earned wisdom and put it into practice this year. Don’t get me wrong, we are not perfect and never will be. That’s one of those lessons in wisdom we’ve accumulated over the years –  there is no such thing as perfect!

Because we’ve had such a great year we wanted to celebrate by giving away some of our profits set aside for charitable giving in a fun way. We’re giving away $20,000 in December and each team member is directing an additional $200 to the charity of their choice. (Shout out to my friend who gave me this idea when her company did something similar for turning 75!) I would love to hear from you all about organizations that inspire you. What organization or causes do you give your time, money or other resources to and why? We’ll be sharing some of ours with you over this 20 Days of Giving, and we’d love to hear from you too!

Christin

---

Product Spotlights & Updates:

Happy Hump Day CK Family! Today we’re highlighting our HDMI to DVI-D Cable w/ Latched Gold Plated Connectors.

This cable connects DVI devices to HDMI devices going both ways. Used for DVD, satellite receivers, LCD, projectors, plasma and HDTVs. HDMI to DVI-D cables provide an interface between any HDMI-enabled audio/video source, such as a set-top box, DVD player, and A/V receiver and an audio and/or video monitor or projector.

---

Learning Center Article – Your Guide to Cisco Catalyst Switches

A network is only as effective as its weakest link. When you have heavy demands, you need good options to meet and exceed those demands. Cisco has been providing top-quality options for every network design for decades.

This overview will introduce you to some of the most common, versatile and widely-used switches Cisco has to offer.

---

In This Issue: 20 Days of Giving: Day 3 | 10ft Gray CAT5e Ethernet Patch Cable | News to Start Your Day

---

Raise your hand this morning if you’re a big fan of the delicious spun sugar treat that delights candy fans of all ages! Happy National Cotton Candy Day! Did you know that cotton candy used to simply be called spun sugar and dates all the way back to the 1400s? 

---

The CK Daily – 20 Days of Giving: Day 3

Giving as part of our Core Values

At CK we have an internal document that we call the Plan for Success. It is a series of seven questions that we ask ourselves as a “gut check” on how we’re doing. The last question is: are we making an impact in the community? We want it to be built into our DNA to think about others. It is important to note that this question comes after all the others. You cannot give from an empty vessel. You won’t be able to take care of your team (that’s question six) or help others if you don’t have a solid foundation. I’d summarize our Plan for Success this way: know your business, honor your commitments, create sustainable profitability, take care of your team and find a way to make a bigger impact.

Christin 

---

Product Spotlights & Updates:

Today we’re taking a closer look at our Snagless CAT5e Ethernet cables. These cables are made with the highest quality copper wire construction to support networking Gigabit Ethernet speeds (up to 1000 Mbps) over short distances. This makes these patch cables perfect for general use, and are the most popular network cable for home or office networking.

Our new EASYboot, Ferrari-style patch cables have all the same benefits of the standard half-moon boot cables, but make it easier to connect and disconnect your ethernet cables. Pretty sweet, right?

---

Learning Center Article – What does 5G mean for business networks?

There is a lot of technology generating excitement for more applications than we could hope to name. One central theme to virtually all of that technology is an increased demand for data and the need for higher bandwidth for connectivity.

Ultimately, we all need a network that is built for the new age of connectivity. That network will run on 5G. Read more here.

---

In This Issue: 20 Days of Giving: Day 2 | Cisco 10GBase-LR SFP Module | News to Start Your Day

---

Happy Monday! We hope you had a great weekend full of time with family and good football. Who’s excited about the upcoming playoff bowl games?! Who are you rooting for?

---

The CK Daily – 20 Days of Giving: Day 2

What does giving mean to us?

The call that we feel to give comes from our faith and also our mission as an organization. We want to inspire others in how they lead their own lives and run their businesses. When we started giving from business profits, the reasons were more heavily focused in the “because it brings us joy” or “because we’re wired that way” category. Many years ago a mentor introduced us to the idea of ministry through business, the idea of furthering the missions that we’re passionate about through the resources entrusted to us. Non-profits, ministries, and charitable organizations are users of many resources and businesses are resource generators. We need each other.

What we have found through our own experiences is that finding charitable organizations that are aligned with our values to pour into with time, money and other resources takes the work that we do and propels it to a new level. Work for work’s sake? Work for a “just” a paycheck? No thanks. Work for a living, seeing our mission and values multiplied through charitable work with a sprinkle of extra joy? Yes, please!

Christin 

---

Product Spotlights & Updates:

Happy Monday! Today let’s dive a little more into the Cisco 10GBase-LR SFP Module.

The Cisco 10GBase-LR SFP+ transceiver module was designed for long-range data transmission and supports data transfer over a distance of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) using single-mode fiber. This transceiver module transfers data at a rate of 10 Gigabits per second and is an ideal option for connectivity needs in large data centers, enterprise wiring closets, large campuses, and Metro Area Networks. Snag one today!

---

Learning Center Article – The Importance of Fiber Optic Cleaning

Installing fiber optic systems is not easy. It requires multiple levels of expertise in design and application, and it’s why fiber optics experts are always in high demand. While installations will vary heavily depending on the components and applications at play, there is one thing that is necessary for every installation, and it’s easy to overlook. Every system needs fiber optic cleaning to ensure that it will work properly.

Read more about what fiber optic cleaning accomplishes and best practices here. 

---

In This Issue: 20 Days of Giving: Day 1 | Velcro Qwik Tie Uncut Tape Roll | News to Start Your Day

---

Happy Friday! You did it! You survived coming back from a long holiday weekend, got through Cyber Monday, and maybe even snagged a few good deals while you were at it. We hope it was a successful week and that you get some much-needed rest this weekend!

---

The CK Daily – 20 Days of Giving: Day 1

Hi friends! I miss “chatting” with you more regularly. We are kicking off 20 days of giving here at CK, and I wanted to give you a little insight into how (and why) giving works for us. As I was thinking about what to share with you, I realized that the why behind our giving has several different layers (like onions or ogres, haha). From the very beginning of this business, Craig and I have given from our profits. It is something we like to do and it is something that we feel called to do. As we have matured as people and as an organization, those reasons have become more developed and purposed.

Giving because we like to is pretty simple – it brings us joy to help others. We have always enjoyed helping people achieve their dreams or further a cause they are passionate about. We give of our money, time, and other resources personally and realized as the team was growing that we wanted to share that with them too. We’ve done some cool projects together over the years, and we set aside a percentage of profits each month into a fund that is for service projects and charitable contributions.

Stay tuned as we walk through the next 20 days and share more about why we give, who we are giving to, and our giving goal for this year.

Christin 

---

Product Spotlights & Updates:

Friday is here and we’re highlighting something so practical to always keep in your toolbox – Velcro Qwik Tie Uncut Tape Roll!

Managing cables of any kind has never been easier. No more looking for the right size strap, cutting and replacing zip ties, or relying on more expensive proprietary solutions to make sure your cables are in order. Replacing, changing, and troubleshooting copper, fiber and power cable runs is a snap when they are organized using these VELCRO® Brand Qwik Tie Die Cut Straps.

---

Learning Center Article – Why the ML350G8 Server Series is perfect of today’s business

Smaller organizations are looking for reliable, easy-to-manage in-house server capacity without the real estate and utility costs that server rooms require. They want high-end equipment that runs powerful virtualization, data analysis, and web server workloads. They need ERP, CRM, and other key enterprise tools. The HP ProLiant ML350p Gen 8 server series works hard to meet these needs and takes few, if any, breaks.

Continue reading more here. 

---