august 2009

A letter from our CEO, Carmine De Santo

Carmine De Santo (desanto@loop.ca)

Happy New Year to Loop! Wow, this new fiscal year will mark our 15th Anniversary in business on January 21st, 2010. 15 years in this industry and we survived the IT bugs, countless viruses, Y2K, recessions and the memory sticks factory fires overseas! You name it we survived it!

We are very excited here at Loop and this year we have launched on August 1, 2009 a newly designed website as well as a brand NEW online store that our customers can purchase directly from http://store.loop.ca. Check our new sites out and let us know what you think! We also introduced some of our new services such as computer recycling, virtualization, online backup, remote monitoring, unified communications and our very own Loop Drives hard drives. Be sure to check the Loop Drives out on our online store under storage!

In this fiscal year, we will be focusing on our GREEN initiatives and offering remote support through MSP (Managed Service Provider). When you purchase our MSP services, you will help save our environment by keeping the number of technicians on the road for service calls to a minimum. This initiative is very important to us and we are working very hard to build our infrastructure to meet your companies’ uptime on productivity.

We want you to stay in the ‘Loop’ and by doing so, we are now on Twitter, Facebook and Meetup. Please visit us today and everyday!

I would like to give my sincere thanks for all of your support and I'm very pleased to have all of you as loyal customers and I am looking forward to working with all of you again for another 15+ years! Enjoy the rest of the summer and all the best to you and your families.

Sincerely,
Carmine De Santo, CEO
Loop Enterprise Inc.

Happy 15th Anniversary Loop Enterprise Inc.!

by Sherri Stirpe (vendorpartner@loop.ca), Vendor Partner Relationship Manager

At the end of every year we look back and reminisce on the old and anticipate the new. On August 1st, 2009 Loop Enterprise Inc. closes out its fiscal year and anticipates it’s 15th Anniversary on January 21st, 2010. As we look back over the years, Loop Enterprise Inc. has been recognized in many different fashions; As one of the top 25 Apple Solution Experts in Canada; Carmine De Santo (CEO) chosen as the “International Who's Who Young Entrepreneur of the Year” and we have been listed in Profit Magazine’s Top 100 Fastest Growing Companies in Canada for 3 consecutive years.

As we start a new year, we start new projects like our new online store, a new homepage and a new bride for Carmine De Santo our CEO.

So much has been accomplished the past 15 years, cheer’s to many, many more!

Loop Store - http://store.loop.ca

by Sherri Stirpe (vendorpartner@loop.ca), Vendor Partner Relationship Manager

As the Vendor Manager here at Loop Enterprise Inc., I am thrilled about the announcement of our new online store. I’m a shopper myself so to be able to hop online and browse through all of the gadgets, the latest and greatest products, not to mention the sale racks, anytime of the day or night, I’m so excited to start shopping – but shhh don’t tell Carmine! Please check out our new store at http://store.loop.ca and click on Clearance section for our Inventory Blow Out and Featured Items for the latest deals on Samsung, Lexmark and HP. These two sections change monthly, so be sure to keep visiting the site.

If you are looking for something specific on our site and you don’t see it, please be sure to let me know and I would be happy to assist you!

Until next time, enjoy your online shopping experience with Loop Enterprise Inc.!

Welcome to the Store!

by Simon Strantzas (procurement@loop.ca), Product Specialist

Here at Loop we hear one question more than any other: "When are you going to have an online store?" Well, here is the answer to the long and anticipated question. Point your browser to http://store.loop.ca and view our NEW online store! This is all part of our GREEN initiative to become a paperless company and forgo the paper catalogues of the past. Plus, with the fluctuating dollar, the new store will allow us to provide you with up-to-date pricing to get you the best value. With the thousands of items we carry, and new products added daily, you should find everything you need. If by chance there is something missing, please let us know as we can source almost anything for you.

Here are just a few of the features of the online store:

  1. 24 x 7 x 365 Access
  2. Products have images, descriptions, part numbers, and inventory levels
  3. Backorders Status
  4. Quotes - for specific projects
  5. Expert Product Advice

This is an exciting new venture for Loop Enterprise Inc. and we hope for you as well. We want all of you to have the best experience possible while shopping at Loop and if by chance you prefer the old-fashioned touch of a live person, you are welcomed to telephone the office or send an email as you've previously done. This store does not replace anything but instead gives you one more method to get the fabulous pricing and service you've come to expect from Loop Enterprise.

Final Cut Studio

by Glen Craven (service@loop.ca), Business Systems Analyst

The leading post-production suite is even better. The new Final Cut Studio.

In my last article, I mentioned the impending release of a new Final Cut Studio. Industry observers, myself included, speculated that it would not be released until the next National Association of Broadcasters conference, as this is the place where Apple normally showcases its latest editing software. Instead, Apple quietly announced the release of its new Final Cut Studio this month.

Final Cut Studio’s quiet release though, does not reflect the extensive upgrades that have been undertaken. Apple has been hard at work adding more than 100 new features to the leading post-production suite.

You can for example, use new versions of the ProRes Codec to edit at high quality with reduced file sizes in a wide variety of workflows. iChat Theater allows you to work with clients or colleagues in real time from anywhere in the world. You can add dramatic 3D graphics, repair common audio problems and automate delivery in just a few clicks. These are just a few examples; the suite also includes significant upgrades to Final Cut Pro, Motion, and Soundtrack Pro and updated versions of Color and Compressor. It also includes DVD Studio Pro, the industry standard for DVD authoring.

Top Features

  • Expanded ProRes family. Edit even faster at higher quality across workflows ranging from offline editing to broadcast events to high-fidelity compositing.
  • Easy export. Use the new Share window in Final Cut Pro 7 or Motion 4 for single-click delivery to your Apple devices, the web, a Blu-ray disc, or a DVD.
  • iChat Theater support. Work with clients or colleagues in real time from anywhere in the world. Just send your Final Cut Pro video to iChat Theater.
  • New speed change tools. Change clip speeds with ease from the redesigned Change Speed window in Final Cut Pro 7. You can also create constant or variable speed changes in the Timeline.
  • 3D shadows and reflections. Motion 4 lets you add dramatic shadows and dazzling reflections that respond naturally as objects and lights move through 3D space.
  • Voice-level match. The new Voice Level option in the Soundtrack Pro 3 Lift and Stamp tools lets you instantly match dialogue levels across your project.
  • Support for 4K files. Color 1.5 lets you grade and render at maximum quality, with a workflow that supports native 4K files from cameras such as the RED ONE.
  • Batch templates. New batch templates in Compressor 3.5 let you automate end-to-end encoding workflows including settings, destinations, and post-encoding delivery.
  • DVD authoring. Produce studio-quality DVD titles with drag-and-drop ease using DVD Studio Pro 4.

Apple also released new versions of Final Cut Server, Logic Studio and Logic Express which will be covered in future editions of this newsletter.
Until then, you may want to consider completing your editing studio with a new Mac Pro workstation and an Apple LED Cinema Display or choosing a new MacBook Pro so that you can edit on location. Happy slicing.

The Importance of Networking

by Bryan Chiasson (sales@loop.ca), Sales Relationship Executive

What is networking?
Networking is a group of people or resources that can help make opportunities and information more accessible to each other.

How can this help?
Networking can give access to knowledge and experience, help you gain support for your project, and take the best action possible.

Identify Your Networks
There are many types of networks. ‘informal’ networks which include friends and family and ‘formal’ networks which include business contacts; people you meet at conferences, or people you know through volunteer work.

Building a diverse network that includes contacts in both related and unrelated fields is essential because, they may refer clients that they know could benefit from your help.

Effective networking is about making contacts and developing a relationship, it is not just handing out your business cards. If you show up at an event with the goal to sell something, then you have failed before you have even started. People need to know you first so they can gain trust in you and your product or service.

To network effectively:

  • Take the time to ask what the other person does. This person's expertise may come in handy at some time in the future.
  • Give the other person a business card and ask for one in return. Trying to track down a phone number or email address later on can be frustrating.
  • Occasionally offer advice or some other form of assistance to each contact. Someone who is truly helpful becomes more than just a name on a card. He or she becomes a contact to turn to when there is a problem to solve.

Almost 2 years ago now, I was working at my previous employer and I had attended a Toronto Board of Trade breakfast. I had the opportunity to meet many different people from different industries. There was one gentleman that was at my table and after our formal greetings, we both knew we liked each other. As I was not there to sell anything, my subsequent follow-ups resulted in us doing business together. The company was Loop Enterprise Inc. and today I am proud to be part of a company that I met through a simple networking activity.

Networking Works!

Annual Golf Tournament – Wooden Sticks

Our annual customer appreciation event was held at the beautiful Wooden Sticks in Uxbridge and what a FANTASTIC event this was. We would like to give special thanks to all of our sponsors, specifically Jim DeWeerd from World Vision for the golf balls so we could all practice! As well as Apple, Ingram Micro, Bryson Insurance, Cisco, HP, IBM, Collins Barrow and Eaton for all of their generous donations.

Thank you once again to everyone who was able to make this event a great success!

upcoming events

Apple Expo 2009

Distillery Historic District, 55 Mill Street, Toronto, Ontario
August 21, 2009

On August 21, 2009, Loop Enterprise Inc., is proud to be a Gold sponsor at the Apple Expo 2009 event held at the Distillery Historic District, 55 Mill Street in Toronto, Ontario. This event offers access to hundreds of Mac product demos, information and services, paired with expert advice, demonstrations and instruction.

If you are interested in attending, please review the links below:

Reseller event: http://www.channelnext.ca/event_overview.php?ref=1052

End-user event: www.appleexpo.ca

Apple Expo Canada VIP event

August 21 3 – 9pm

www.appleexpo.ca

Loop Enterprise Inc. is a Gold sponsor at this years Apple Expo Canada 2009 and I would like to extend a special invitation for you to attend on August 21st, 2009 between 3-9pm at the Distillery District, downtown Toronto. As our guest it is free for you to attend the exposition to see the latest products from many Mac manufacturers.

If you are interested in attending, please send an email to vendorpartner@loop.ca with the subject Apple Expo Canada 2009 and I will arrange to have a badge for you at the entrance.

Hope you can make it!