10 Products (and Processes) That Should Be Put Out to Pasture

By Cameron Sturdevant

Extended support for Windows 2000 will end in 2010, so, if this operating system is running in your company, it may be time to start putting together an upgrade plan. With advances in Linux server OSes, it-

The real question here is: How long can your company hang on to outdated CRT monitors before the energy/cooling/recycling costs of running the technology rise higher than the cost to replace it?

Now is the time to stop the automatic process of buying additional hardware for new applications or to provide more capacity for existing apps. If vendors don-

If any of your facilities are still using the 10M-bps Cat 3 network cable infrastructure, it-

Slow, Version 1.1 USB hubs may be hidden productivity robbers lurking in your organization. Upgrade your USB hubs, and your work force will see the difference. Upgrade costs can be reduced by making this part of an employee self-install project, since most workers know what a USB port is and how to use it.

Your road warriors will be in the battle longer and fight more effectively if you equip them with new laptop batteries on a regular basis. Don-

Firmware should be tested before it is upgraded-

An expired digital certificate almost always points to process problems in the IT organization. When updating digital certs, take some time to review the certificate management process to ensure that security staff roles are filled, and make certificate issuance and retirement procedures serve the purpose of securing valuable company data.

Allowing users to run as admin by default is irresponsible and will incur unneeded support costs and user downtime.

Aside from being energy-inefficient, old servers are also often space hogs. Outdated equipment that –