I was first introduced to Virtual Reality (VR) about 2 years ago when my family and I took a trip to Minneapolis and spent a day at the Mall of America. My wife and daughter, who was 6 at the time, went shopping while my 5-year-old son and I wandered off to entertain ourselves. We made our way to the Microsoft store where my son immediately sat down at a gaming PC with Minecraft and three 24-inch…

We’ve all seen the ads that advertise a product or service that seems way too good to be true.  And most of the time that is exactly the case.  Why I am I bringing this up now?  There is a big push by certain satellite providers to provide Internet service around our part of the country.  The offers sound amazing, but make sure you are doing your research and reading the fine print before you dec…

We are hiring - Join the DRN/ReadiTech Team!

You might have noticed a few different job openings posted on our websites, social media platforms, newspapers and other outlets.  We are excited to add new talent to our team!  You might also have been asked, “Why do you want to work for us” or something similar in an interview.  I’m going to give you some answers to that question specific…

In previous blogs , . I am going to write about fiber optics but not about how it works or what advantages fiber optics brings to DRNs members, but how to protect the fiber optics that are in fact the largest asset to DRN and its members.

The fall season is upon us and most have wrapped up or are getting close to wra…

As I had a long drive home tonight I was trying to decide what cool technology news I should write my blog on.  My mind kept on wondering to something I have been thinking about for the last couple months.  How does DRN/ReadiTech differentiate and separate ourselves from all of our competitors?  I do believe competition is a good thing and it makes everybody better, and in my competitive spirit I…

Virtualization?  What is it? Why use it?  These are good questions to ask yourself and your business.  I am not talking about a virtual person or Bitmoji, but servers, desktops, switching and more. 

While many people think of this as a new technology.  Virtulization got its’ start with large mainframes decades ago, to avoid wasting expensive processing power, it really caught hold in the early …

The day some dread, others look forward to as soon as the school supplies hit the retail store shelves.  Yes, it is Back to School time.  Time to discover.  Time to Learn.  Time to purchase notebooks, pencils, calculators, and more. Time to watch the next generation develop those life-long learning skills. One of those skills is learning how to conduct research.

The Internet has made research e…

Hello!  This is Tim Steinwand, Customer Experience Specialist here at DRN.   As time goes on, it seems like we all are getting busier and busier, and there are not enough hours in the day.  It also seems like we are constantly on the go.  Well, I want to tell you about an offering that DRN has that will save you some time and make your video viewing experience more enjoyable, even when you are aw…

In recent years we have seen more and more conflict on the cyber battlefield.  As more attacks and breaches occur, more and more resources go into defensive actions.  Firewalls, strong passwords, and updating software are essential to securing the home front.  However, when considering cyber defense, you must not forget that the most commonly exploited component is the human.  This exploit is com…

My name is Alyssa Nishek. I would like to tell you about my experience as the Marketing Intern at DRN for the summer; everything only an insider would know. Before I inform you on the details of my internship, I first need to tell you a bit about myself.

I graduated from Ellendale High School this year. I plan on attending NDSU in the Fall to pursue degrees in both Communications and Criminal J…

To understand hosting, you first must understand the cloud. Simply put it is a mega server hardware that can run many machines using combined hardware resources. These mega servers can be hosted by anyone, so the cloud is made up of a lot of companies across the globe that offer these services. Now you don’t have to outright buy equipment that depreciates, and you won’t have to manage it. You can…

What do you do when your business is holding an event and the traditional posters, newspaper and radio ads are not reaching the audience that you want it to?  Easy! Time to turn to social media. Seventy-six percent of Facebook users check it every day! Here are 10 easy ways to use social media to promote your event. 

1. Create a catchy hashtag -  keep it pertinent, short and unique.  Encou…

Have you ever wondered where your backup data is stored when you purchase DRN Readitech’s backup service?  Until recently, DRN has stored our customer’s data on site locally.  However, this summer DRN ReadiTech’s team made a change.  That change was to move our customer’s data to the cloud.  There are several reasons for moving to the cloud.  These reasons include internal resource efficiency, en…

You grab your mail and are shuffling through it.  Suddenly, you see an extra letter from DRN and when you open it, it states “Notice of Infringement.”  What is this you say?

A copyright infringement letter is a letter notifying you that your internet has been used illegally.  A copyrighted work has been reproduced, distributed or publicly displayed without the permission of the copyright owner.…

With our annual audit complete, we can put 2017 behind us and allocate the profits of the company back to the members who are so important to us.   To be a member of the cooperative you must purchase local telephone service.  Your local line and any other services with the phone like caller id, call waiting and NDLD long distance services all qualify as patronage allocable services.  In 2018, int…