Your Applied Net Prep Master List: Checklist, Amazon Picks & Survival Guide
Can you believe Applied Net is less than a week away? Vegas has a way of sneaking up on you — one minute you’re thinking about what to pack, the next you’re lost in a convention center the size of a small city. That’s why we put together the Prep Master List: smart packing tips, our […]
I Asked ChatGPT to Train Me for a Half Marathon… and It Worked
I Used AI to Run a Half Marathon (Really) A few months ago, I tried to run a single mile—just one—and it nearly broke me. I was huffing, puffing, and questioning every life decision that led me to that sidewalk. Let’s just say… it was humbling. Then my daughter Hannah—Archway’s marketing director—told me she was […]
AI: Friend or Fad | Bible, Books, and Big Thoughts | Microsoft 365: Secure or Screwed?
Happy 2025! …JK. January was a whirlwind, so I’m officially considering February the real start of the year. There’s already been a lot happening in the world of tech and insurance, so let’s jump into a few things I’ve been thinking about lately. AI Tools We’re Testing (And Want Your Feedback On) AI is everywhere, […]
Tricks, Treats, and Cyber Threats: Your Halloween Cybersecurity Guide!
As we gear up for Halloween, it’s also time to wrap up Cybersecurity Awareness Month! While everyone’s getting into the spooky spirit, don’t forget that hackers love to play tricks too—but we’ve got the treats to keep your agency safe. This newsletter is packed with valuable insights, tools, and tips to protect your business from […]
🤖 AI Webinar Tomorrow 🖱️$100 Mouse Upgrade 💼 Why Compliance is Falling Short
AI and Outsourcing: Unlock the Future of Insurance in Tomorrow’s Webinar! You still have time to register for our Insurance Hacks Webinar happening tomorrow, Thursday, September 26th, at 11 AM PT | 2 PM ET! I’ll be sitting down with Angela Adams, President of Angela Adams Consulting, to dive into how AI and outsourcing are […]
AI Bracketology + Virtual Victories with Valor Pro
Buzzer-Beaters and Bracket Busters At Archway Computer, we’re obviously all about cybersecurity, but this time of year we can’t resist the allure of March Madness! Even though my beloved UCLA Bruins didn’t hit the court this year (huge props to our women’s team for making it to the Sweet 16!), the tournament has been a […]
Script to Screen with ChatGPT + Cybertruck Chronicles
Script to Screen in an AI Flash Imagine crafting a professional-grade video in less time than it takes to brew your morning coffee. Dive into the future of video creation with the ChatGPT Veed.io plugin, where your words transform into cinematic magic faster than you can say “Action!” The process is simple: you provide the video instructions, […]
DMARC Directives + Travel Triumphs
DMARC: Your Email Security Sidekick DMARC, a vital email authentication tool, is now a mandatory requirement by major email providers like Gmail and Yahoo Mail. This new regulation ensures that emails sent from your domain are authenticated, protecting your communications from being classified as spam or fraudulent. DMARC complements SPF and DKIM protocols, adding an extra […]
Aerial Adventures + Dual Display Delights
Turbulent Thrills: A Go-Around Adventure Strap in for this one! Recently, I experienced the adrenaline rush of a go-around maneuver on my flight. For those unfamiliar, a go-around is an aborted landing of an aircraft that’s already on final approach, not just thrilling; it’s a testament to the incredible safety protocols in aviation. And guess […]
Policy Protectors + Microsoft Mastery
Policy Protectors: Crafting Cyber Safeguards Greetings, digital defenders and insurance aficionados! This week, we’re diving into a cyber conundrum. Our VP of Customer Support, SueAnn, noticed a sharp insight has unveiled a startling trend among independent insurance agencies – a glaring absence of cyber insurance policies and procedures. It’s like having a firewall with holes! […]
HEX-it + Unveil the Dual-Screen Delight
HEX-it Stage Left Tired of trudging through the digital Dark Ages? It’s time to break free from the clutches of the past and journey towards a brighter, more integrated future. In case you missed it, Applied Systems is discontinuing offering and supporting the Applied Microsoft Hosted Exchange email service. Bid adieu to your antiquated email system, […]
2023 Vision + Lights, Camera, Archway!
Reel in the Risk If you happen to own a Barracuda hardware device called the Email Security Gateway (ESG), though, we’ve got a little issue to discuss. These devices have run into a pretty serious vulnerability that could put your data at risk. Initially, Barracuda tried to fix it with some software updates, but turns […]
Robocall Repellent + Robot-Enhanced Vacations
Minty Fresh FinanceFirst up, let’s talk about Mint.com. Now, I know what you’re thinking, “Brad, you’re a tech geek, not a finance guru!”
Brad’s Back – What’d I Miss?
ChatGPT: Your AI-ssistant for Life’s Little Tasks Do you ever wish you had a personal assistant to help you with all the little things in life? Well, now you can have one, thanks to ChatGPT! ChatGPT is an AI chatbot app that can help you with just about anything (except write this newsletter, of course ;)). Need to […]
Giving Thanks (For Deals) + Out of Office Tips
Deals Deals DealsYou’ve probably been bombarded with all the upcoming Black Friday/Cyber Monday Deals coming up, there’s no shortage of excellent offers
Sleep TipzZz + For the (Obsession) of the Game
I am minorly sleep-obsessed; without my proper 8 hours, I am literally in zombie-mode. But the cruel irony of sleep is the more you worry about it
Welcome Back Football Fans + Magical Mineral Water
Not to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but year after year I always feel like my iPhone starts slowing down conveniently around the same time that Apple
Completing My First 5K + How To Hide From Google
For those of you who have been following along with my running journey the past few months, I’m incredibly proud to announce that I completed my Couch to 5K
Windows ‘Free’ Trials + A+ in iPhone
Even though I consider myself an A+ student in ‘iPhone 101’, the folks at Apple continue to surprise me with new features, settings, and time-saving hacks. Here are some of my favorites I recently learned:
Mindfully Moving Forward with Steve Anderson
Serenity Now Listen, I’m done. I’m done writing about it, I’m done talking about it, I’m done thinking about it.
The Best Ability is Adaptability
Reconnecting with Zoom The ability to work around our current circumstances and try to enjoy our ride around the Sun no matter what is a skill set that can prove useful in many facets of life…and so it was really encouraging to see so many friendly faces during our happy hour last Saturday.25 of us showed up […]
Building a Longer Table at Archway
Team Archway Wants YOU! I’ve always taken pride in making sure the people I choose to join Team Archway are well taken care of, and that’s why I’m especially happy in this time to announce that we are looking for new members. We’re busier than ever these days, and there are plenty of people out […]
Working (Smart) from Home and the Power of Positivity
Perspective Check We’ve all probably been watching too much doom and gloom unfold on our various screens, and the reason for it isn’t exactly surprising.
The Decision: Windows into Brad’s Future
Jumping Ship (Again) I’ve been holding on to this update for a while because I know it might come as a bit of a shock for those that have heard me talk up the device over the years, but here it is: I’ve officially left my trusty Chromebook in 2019. (Surprise!) There’s an origin story […]
Retention Revolutionized + Brushing Up on Tech
Defender of Tooth Anyone who knows me knows I’m absolutely obsessed with good dental hygiene
To Clearer Tech Visions in 2020 👀
We’re Here! Before we get started this week month year decade, I want to start out by wishing everyone out there a successful and fulfilling 2020 possible! (sidenote: isn’t 2020 the most fun year to type in a while?) It’s a particularly special time for me, as 2020 marks my 10th year of leading Team […]
Brad’s Blog Returns
Who’s Feelin’ Lucky? I gotta say, just being back in your inbox at last feels great, but when you throw in the fact that it’s AppliedNet season too….well, it’s an especially magical Tuesday morning. Look, I understand that not every organization even uses Applied products, but it’s always an entertaining affair with lots of interesting […]
Breaking Free: Junk Mail and Smartphone Addiction
Clean Your Mailbox, Save the World Getting the mail used to be one of the most exciting activities on the daily schedule of a household
The Changing Face of the Workplace
Connected Coordination Remote work is exploding in popularity…let’s be honest, there’s really no reason for some of your employees to be onsite full-time. Along with helping save on office space, forming an offsite team also allows you to attract more new talent that may be happier and therefore more productive outside a traditional workplace environment. […]
Customer Service: The Right Mix of Man and Machine
Brad Calls for Backup I’ve been dealing with some billing issues for services at my former home that burned down in last year’s California wildfires.
Cheap Laptops, An App Named Quiker , Life Without Football
Subpar Bowl Well, if there’s one positive thing to be said about the Super Bowl, it’s “at least we didn’t go to the game”
Feels Like the Future: Rollable TVs and Online Office
Saints and Sinners I want to start out by congratulating our Los Angeles Rams on their upcoming trip to Atlanta for the Super Bowl!
Resolution Revolution 2019
New Year, New Brad It’s the first full week of the year and I´m happy to report that my 2019 resolutions are still intact! I´m trying to learn more Spanish–my wife speaks it when she wants to say something especially complimentary during an argument–and I’ve found Rosetta Stone to be pretty helpful in the pursuit. I’ve had […]
Strengthened Security and Successful Smiling Strategies
Smiling Through It All Next week’s Super Bowl has given me a surprisingly profound opportunity to consider the nature of happiness.
Second City Scenery and the Self-Driving Saga
Windy City Wonders To borrow an insight from the late Frank Sinatra, “this is my kind of town, Chicago is.”
The Enduring Internet and the Latest on iOS 12
Forever Online Here’s a sentence you would have never heard in earnest just 10 years ago: have you ever wondered what happens to your social media accounts
Is That a Laptop in Your Pocket
What’s Old is New Again… Not every step forward is a step up, and so I can’t be the only one that sort of misses physical keyboards on smartphones. They were ubiquitous in the era of Blackberries and Sidekicks, but fizzled out almost all at once as screens got larger and devices got ever slimmer. […]
Your Friends, For Sale
The True Value of You They say the user is the product in any service that is both free and convenient, and Facebook in particular makes a fortune in leveraging the data you directly and indirectly provide. As the man behind the plan himself said with a satisfied smirk in a congressional hearing “We sell ads, […]
Brilliant Buys and Savvy Sales
Home Shopping Season If you’re on the fence about selling your house this year, maybe you should consider making up you mind by the end of the month. According to Zillow, May is the best time of the year to have your property on the market, as on average homes sell two weeks faster and […]
Busted Brackets and Cheap Cruise Connections
he Maddest March Yet Like pretty much everyone else, I’ve had my NCAA bracket busted beyond recognition in the first couple of rounds.
Brad’s 23rd Century Retirement Plan
One Day at a Time (for 279 Years) I’ve started looking into retirement options before it’s too late–or at least, that’s what I set out to do recently. Apparently if I want to maintain my standard of living after I punch the digital clock for the last time, I’ll be putting in full shifts on […]
The Future We Were Promised and Super Keyboard
Where’s My Jetpack? We were told as children that in the future people would be wearing jetpacks and jumpsuits
Stealth Screens and Insurance by Amazon
Fall of the Trojans Well, it’s been a couple of days and I’m still recovering from the big game–that is, UCLA extending its win streak by taking down archrival USC at home on Saturday. The Lady Bruins even threw in a victory over their counterparts from Southern Cal Monday night just for good measure. With […]
Super Bowl Heart Attacks and Universal Translator
Making Contact For my readers who travel on a regular basis, you know there are two things you can’t necessarily rely on to be in every location
New Year, Same Geek
…and we’re back! First things first: Happy New Year 2018 to all my readers! By now just about everyone is settling back into their everyday routines, which have hopefully been amended to reflect all those ambitious resolutions made just last week. A simple alteration that has made a tangible impact on my quality of life […]
Falls and Screen Shares
For Your Family I wish I could start off with better news, but this is important to me and could be to you or someone close to you as well. My mother had herself a bit of a fall recently, and unfortunately she sustained some injuries including a concussion and blood loss in the incident […]
Talking InsureTech and InsureTurkey
The Season Begins Happy Thanksgiving! Yes, check your calendar, it is actually the end of November. With that in mind, carving a turkey can be either an engineering challenge on the scale of the Golden Gate Bridge or an effortlessly efficient process, depending on if you know what you’re doing or not. For the many […]
Slick Sales and Christmas Chromebooks
California Wildfires Before the fun and games kick off today, I have to take a minute to address something that continues to affect many of my fellow Californians. Even though the pictures and videos from the disaster paint a dramatic image t’s hard to get a sense of the devastation that the ongoing wildfires have had […]
No Holiday for Hackers
Hacking the Holidays Tis the season…for email phishing and other scams. Unfortunately, cybercrooks are well aware of the increase in online activity that comes with this time of year, and with tools such as keystroke loggers and spoofed links in widespread use, it’s no surprise that a recent survey says at least 15 percent of […]
Fearless Flyers
Stronger Through Tech Before the fun starts, I want to start off this week by sending my continued thoughts to those affected by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma as well as my readers in the Great Plains and Pacific Northwest who are dealing with massive wildfires in their respective regions. While obviously tragic, events like these […]
ATTN: Both Brad’s Blog Superfans
Blank Space Is there anything more annoying than running out of storage space on your phone? Of course there is, but I’m doing A Thing here, come on. That seemingly uninhibited ability to draw any digital resources from any source of your choosing—automatic data backup, streaming music, videos, email, scheduling, games and a map of […]