Or put on your comfortable shoes - because it's almost time for the Evanced Twitter Hunt!
July 11-14 we're giving away great stuff at conference - but we're doing it in a whole new way. Follow us on Twitter @Evanced and once a day we'll send out a clue (or clues) telling you where you can find a hidden prize or where you can meet up with Christine (our Coordinator of Customer Experience) to win things like:
- Canvas tote bags loaded with books, swag, chocolate and more (you'll actually want to use the tote bag again - yes, really, you will!
- One year free subscriptions to your choice of Events, Room Reserve, or Summer Reader
- Brownies - not just any brownies, but Fairytale Brownies
- A $100 gift certificate for Amazon.com
When we tweet, we'll send a clue to a location. It might be in the conference center, it might be somewhere in Chicago. In the clue, we'll let you know whether you should be looking for Christine. No trampling Christine in fits of Twitter hunting frenzy, folks.
Keep an eye on your cell phone - first person to the prize is a winner. Second person and third person to get to Christine, well, you probably won't get anything. So it's good to be first!
We'll be posting mugshots of Christine in the coming days so you know who to look for.
For additional info, read this past post:
http://evanced.blogspot.com/2009/06/announcing-ala-conference-twitter-hunt.html
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
3M Suing Envisionware
http://www.pr-inside.com/m-files-patent-infringement-lawsuit-against-r1341214.htm
This was brought to my attention today. Not seeing anything about it on the Library news or blog sites yet but it is a really big deal. It's likely to dramatically affect the library vendor market. Should be an interesting ALA conference that's for sure. I'm not exactly sure how much it will affect us but we'll definitely be keeping an eye on the situation.
Broken Record?
There was another short lived down time incident at our hosting service provider again today. It appears to already have been address (it was down for a little over 45 minutes).
As I mentioned in the last post we have already kicked our efforts, to locate and implement a new hosting arrangement with a better more reliable service provider into "high gear". Bocacom was very highly rated when we first selected them 4 years ago and until recently they had been reliable. Though we were already considering options for "upgrading" our hosting service the sudden onset of problems has taken us by surprise.
As soon as we have more information and a timeline for a move (which of course we will plan to implement with as little impact and downtime to our customers as possible) we will let everyone know well in advance. In addition to selecting a more reliable provider we are also going to implement faster and even more robust servers as well. So in addition to improved reliability you should also see significant performance improvements.
In the mean time we'll stay vigilant in holding our current provider's "feet to the fire" to keep the service level up and address quickly any problems that do arise. We are very sorry for the inconvenience this has caused to our hosted customers and we'll do our best to turn this situation into a positive going forward.
Thanks again for your patience,
Rob Cullin
CSO / Co-Founder
Monday, June 22, 2009
Hosting Issues
Hosting sites are back up. Problems and latencies (slowness) may continue for a while as the provider replaces/adds some hardware.
FROM Bocacom Support:
UPDATE: The root cause has been found. While the traffic manifested itself as a layer3 issue, we were able to isolate different forms of traffic until we discovered that the problem is due to vendor specific hardware. The line cards in our routers are rated up to 140K packets per second. In reality, they seem to have a soft limit of 114-115K. We have moved traffic around and have been able to balance all cards to under 60K PPS. We have new hardware on its way, the vendor will be in the building with us to formulate the swap out procedure.
UPDATE: The root cause has been found. While the traffic manifested itself as a layer3 issue, we were able to isolate different forms of traffic until we discovered that the problem is due to vendor specific hardware. The line cards in our routers are rated up to 140K packets per second. In reality, they seem to have a soft limit of 114-115K. We have moved traffic around and have been able to balance all cards to under 60K PPS. We have new hardware on its way, the vendor will be in the building with us to formulate the swap out procedure.
The swap out procedure will be done as soon as we have the hardware and procedures nailed down. Until then, the work around will be to manipulate the traffic as needed to keep the latency in check. We will keep you updated as we know more.
As I mentioned in a recent comment response we have been looking at new options for our hosting provider. We will hopefully have more news on the plans there soon but rest assured we do not find the down time acceptable and are taking corrective action.
We are just as upset with this episode as all of you are. This situation is expediting our move to change and hopefully improve our all around hosting service.
Thank you for your patience,
Rob Cullin
CSO / Co-Founder
Hosted Server Issues - 06/22/09
We apologize for the difficulties you are experiencing with your hosted site at the moment. And would like to assure you that we are doing all we can to ensure the quickest possible response.
Your site and data are secure. The difficulty we are experiencing is caused by upper level network difficulties at our hosting provider's location. They appear to have been the target of a network hack (not our servers) and the network is being brought down because of it. The difficulty appears to be exclusively a network connection problem. We are continuing to keep the pressure on but we can assure you that they are working as fast and as hard as possible.
We will post updates on our blog at: http://evanced.blogspot.com/ as we receive them. Again we apologize for the difficulties.
Evanced Solutions Support Team
Your site and data are secure. The difficulty we are experiencing is caused by upper level network difficulties at our hosting provider's location. They appear to have been the target of a network hack (not our servers) and the network is being brought down because of it. The difficulty appears to be exclusively a network connection problem. We are continuing to keep the pressure on but we can assure you that they are working as fast and as hard as possible.
We will post updates on our blog at: http://evanced.blogspot.com/ as we receive them. Again we apologize for the difficulties.
Evanced Solutions Support Team
Friday, June 19, 2009
Server Difficulties - Please Note
Update: As of 3:00 PM EDT:
From our Hosting company:
With the number of servers we host, it is incredibly difficult to diagnose some exploits, especially if it is on the physical layer of the LAN. These would be ARP spoofing attacks, etc. When we were first paged to the problem, the Bocacom staff was engaged throughout the event, monitoring, checking and using a divide and conquer methodology in order to determine which server or server may have been compromised. In this instance, it is completely plausible that a number of servers were compromised and were dormant until "activated". In this case, the resulting attacks were distributed among many racks and interfaces, with no one server responsible for the latency. Even after bringing a server offline and then back online, the errant traffic was not detectable until the process restarted. We will be closely monitoring the network traffic, bringing offline those servers that are sending out bad information, and informing the customers that have infected machines.
Update: As of 11:57 AM EDT
(Our) network engineers and technicians continue to work diligently on identifying the root cause of the latency experienced today. We initially identified a few servers that were compromised and sending out bad traffic. By removing these servers from the network traffic returned to a normal flow. Shortly after this time however, we began to experience latency again. We are in the process of conducting a 2nd search of our network in an effort to eradicate the problem. We thank you for your patience in this matter and assure you that we are doing everything we can to alleviate the latency.
Our hosting provider had some network difficulties beginning the morning of 6/19/2009. An excerpt of their message posted by them at 10:02 AM EDT is below:
"(We) began experiencing latency on one of our core switches. We investigated and identified the servers responsible for sending out the bad traffic. These servers have been isolated and removed from the network."
And at 10:32 AM EDT: "As of 10:30AM EST, we are seeing latency return and are actively seeking out the servers that are generating the malicious traffic."We will continue to investigate this problem and do all we can to ensure the best possible response."
We apologize for any problems this may cause and will keep you posted
-Evanced Support Staff
From our Hosting company:
With the number of servers we host, it is incredibly difficult to diagnose some exploits, especially if it is on the physical layer of the LAN. These would be ARP spoofing attacks, etc. When we were first paged to the problem, the Bocacom staff was engaged throughout the event, monitoring, checking and using a divide and conquer methodology in order to determine which server or server may have been compromised. In this instance, it is completely plausible that a number of servers were compromised and were dormant until "activated". In this case, the resulting attacks were distributed among many racks and interfaces, with no one server responsible for the latency. Even after bringing a server offline and then back online, the errant traffic was not detectable until the process restarted. We will be closely monitoring the network traffic, bringing offline those servers that are sending out bad information, and informing the customers that have infected machines.
Update: As of 11:57 AM EDT
(Our) network engineers and technicians continue to work diligently on identifying the root cause of the latency experienced today. We initially identified a few servers that were compromised and sending out bad traffic. By removing these servers from the network traffic returned to a normal flow. Shortly after this time however, we began to experience latency again. We are in the process of conducting a 2nd search of our network in an effort to eradicate the problem. We thank you for your patience in this matter and assure you that we are doing everything we can to alleviate the latency.
Our hosting provider had some network difficulties beginning the morning of 6/19/2009. An excerpt of their message posted by them at 10:02 AM EDT is below:
"(We) began experiencing latency on one of our core switches. We investigated and identified the servers responsible for sending out the bad traffic. These servers have been isolated and removed from the network."
And at 10:32 AM EDT: "As of 10:30AM EST, we are seeing latency return and are actively seeking out the servers that are generating the malicious traffic."We will continue to investigate this problem and do all we can to ensure the best possible response."
We apologize for any problems this may cause and will keep you posted
-Evanced Support Staff
Friday, June 12, 2009
Announcing the ALA Conference Twitter Hunt Giveaway
Here at Evanced, we are big followers of @tonyhawk on Twitter. In addition to being an amazing skateboarder and an excellent Twitter user, he also does some really fun giveaways using Twitter.
We were so inspired by his giveaways, that we will be hosting some giveaways of our own at Annual Conference in Chicago.
To participate, you will need to follow us on Twitter - we're @Evanced. Don't have a Twitter account? Then follow us at http://www.twitter.com/evanced
Everyday we'll be tweeting a clue or picture of a clue to the location of a great prize or prizes! First person there is the winner! Locations may be in the conference center or in Chicago - but we promise the travel time will be worth it! Think free software, delicious treats, and gift certificates to Amazon plus Evanced swag that is usable and fun! (No stress balls, we promise. If you have found a realistic use for stress balls, please let us know...)
Contest runs July 11- 14! See you in Chicago!
For more information on Tony Hawk's use of Twitter, check out this video on CNN's iReports: http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-249560
We were so inspired by his giveaways, that we will be hosting some giveaways of our own at Annual Conference in Chicago.
To participate, you will need to follow us on Twitter - we're @Evanced. Don't have a Twitter account? Then follow us at http://www.twitter.com/evanced
Everyday we'll be tweeting a clue or picture of a clue to the location of a great prize or prizes! First person there is the winner! Locations may be in the conference center or in Chicago - but we promise the travel time will be worth it! Think free software, delicious treats, and gift certificates to Amazon plus Evanced swag that is usable and fun! (No stress balls, we promise. If you have found a realistic use for stress balls, please let us know...)
Contest runs July 11- 14! See you in Chicago!
For more information on Tony Hawk's use of Twitter, check out this video on CNN's iReports: http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-249560
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
Evanced Announces Fall Reading for Library Staff Members
After managing another summer of summer reading and making it through the annual Summer Reading Party and Shin Dig, you need a break.
Wouldn't it be nice if someone had a fun, easy fall reading program for YOU??? Well, look no further - Evanced Solutions would like to announce its Fall Reading Program. Prizes, book discussions, and fun giveaways await you this fall as you relax after a summer of hard work!
Details will be posted prior to ALA Annual Conference, but until then, there is one big issue that must be addressed.
"Fall Reading Program" is dreadfully boring sounding. Do you have ideas for fun fall reading theme? List your ideas as a comment to this post by June 16 and the Evanced team will vote on the theme they like the most!
Here are some ideas I've had:
"Coffee Cafe" - coffee and tea themed prizes
"Travel the World by Book" - travel inspired prizes
You can see why I need a little help! So leave your comments and lend a hand!
Wouldn't it be nice if someone had a fun, easy fall reading program for YOU??? Well, look no further - Evanced Solutions would like to announce its Fall Reading Program. Prizes, book discussions, and fun giveaways await you this fall as you relax after a summer of hard work!
Details will be posted prior to ALA Annual Conference, but until then, there is one big issue that must be addressed.
"Fall Reading Program" is dreadfully boring sounding. Do you have ideas for fun fall reading theme? List your ideas as a comment to this post by June 16 and the Evanced team will vote on the theme they like the most!
Here are some ideas I've had:
"Coffee Cafe" - coffee and tea themed prizes
"Travel the World by Book" - travel inspired prizes
You can see why I need a little help! So leave your comments and lend a hand!
Monday, June 08, 2009
Summer of Service Graphics Now Available (Plus Great Links)
Here are two variations on the Summer of Service .sponsor image for placement in your Summer Reader software:
To obtain the above graphics, contact Support at In addition to the Summer of Service links that we gave in our last post, here are helpful links to place on your Summer Reader Summer of Service Page:
Kids Health Volunteer Page: http://kidshealth.org/parent/positive/family/volunteer.html
Get Involved Volunteer Opportunity Search Engine: http://www.getinvolved.gov/
The Do Something Volunteer Search Engine: http://www.dosomething.org/volunteer
Habitat for Humanity: http://www.habitat.org/cd/local/
Volunteer Match: http://www.volunteermatch.org/
Network for Good: http://www.networkforgood.org/volunteer/
Don't forget to list local contacts and web addresses as resources. Local community clean up days, food drives, and other events are also great to list on your Summer Reader or Events page.
Friday, June 05, 2009
Are you ready for Summer of Service?
Many of you probably received the email from ALA Executive Director Keith Michael Fiels about the White House initiative "Summer of Service". In his email, Keith asks libraries and librarians to brainstorm how they can use teen volunteers at the library and also encourage service participation in the community.If you didn't get the email, contact me at cayar@evancedsolutions.com and I will forward it to you.
Here at Evanced we've been trying to determine how we can help libraries during the Summer of Service. Here are a few ideas:
- Create a Summer Reader page dedicated to helping teens log service hours. Instead of book reviews, encourage them to do service reviews where they talk about their experiences and what they did. At the end of the summer, they can print out their reviews to add to their high school or college portfolios.
- Use the links portion of Summer Reader to link to area volunteer groups or to your library volunteer page.
- Use the color coding feature of Events to highlight community volunteer events. For instance, highlight all Habitat for Humanity Events in the community in yellow. You don't need to turn on sign up or any of that, but it's a nice way of letting library users know when volunteer chances are coming up!
In the meantime, check out these links detailing the ALA Summer of Service initiative and review more info from the White House!
Summer of Service Page: http://www.nationalservice.gov/about/initiatives/summer.asp#Marketing
ALA Summer of Service Page:
http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/advocacy/summerofservice/summerofservice.cfm
Have a great weekend!
Christine Ayar
Coordinator of Customer Experience
Evanced Solutions
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