Intel's Technology Wiki

Intel has launched Technology Wiki. It is a timeline of technology. People can register and add articles, technologies and gadgets which will appear in the timeline. Some technology articles on the Technology Wiki are telephone, remote control, laser printer. An article has been put on their for 2050 which is Programmable Matter.

The website says “add personal anecdotes about the effects convergent technologies have had on your life. Add a completely new entry. It could be a technology that isn’t on here yet. It could be about a technology that hasn’t been invented yet”.

• To add an article, you will need to register first.
• You then enter the technology name.
• Add the benefit this technology brought.
• Add a summary.
• Choose the year.
• Add any references, eg URLs.
• Select relevant categories.

Check it out here http://tech-wiki.intel.com/en-uk/home.aspx

FREE movie, song or iPhone app

Get a FREE movie, song or iPhone app on iTunes every day from 26th December 2009 to 6th January 2010. Each download will be free for 24 hours only.

To receive daily updates become a fan on iTunes. Sign up for daily alerts or become a fan of iTunes on Facebook.

For more information see http://www.itunes12daysofchristmas.co.uk.

Use your iPhone as a mouse!

There is an iPhone app available called Air Mouse. It’s by a company called RPA Technology based in Boston. The Air Mouse it used in the air and can be used as a mouse and keyboard for your Mac and PC:

You use it by pointing your iPhone at the screen using it similar to a laser pointer.

You can scroll and move windows around
It has a trackpad and works just like a laptop trackpad
It has a keyboard so whatever you type on your iPhone will appear on your computer
It has function keys eg Esc, Home

It’s only £1.19 from the App Store http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/air-mouse-pro-remote-trackpad/id289616509?mt=8

Check out the video demo at http://www.mobileairmouse.com/ and click on demo.

Desktop Icon on Windows 7

Where's the desktop icon in Windows 7?

If you have just installed Windows 7 on your computer, you are probably trying to find the desktop icon …..

It is in the bottom right hand corner of your screen next to the time and date display. Click this and you will be able to see your desktop.

Free Online Document Sharing

Microsoft Office live allows users to share documents online and access them from anywhere with an internet connection (and Microsoft Office installed).

You will need to sign up to use Office Live (or log in using your hotmail account), but it is free.

You can not edit documents here but if you click on those stored in Microsoft Office Live, they will open up into the relevant software on your PC.

It provides 500MB of space.

http://www.officelive.com/en-GB/

Google Docs also provides web based documents, storing and sharing.http://docs.google.com.

Easter Eggs!

What is an 'Easter Egg'?

An Easter Egg is a hidden message or game or extra something else within some software programs. It is revealed when the user carries out a series of commands or key strokes.

All Microsoft programs has Easter Eggs hidden within them prior to Windows XP.

Microsoft stopped adding these after it formed Trustworthy Computing in 2002 http://www.microsoft.com/mscorp/twc/overview.mspx

Anyone remember any?

Here’s one by Google. Go to Google Classic home page and click on the I’m Feeling Lucky button and it will display a countdown in seconds to 2010.

Scareware

What is scareware?

This is a scam whereby a computer user receives a pop up telling them that their computer may be infected by a virus and scaring them into buying some software to remove it. The anti-virus software could be malware or not function.

According to Symantec, 43 million people fell for these scareware scams between July 2008 and July 2009. The full report, Symantec Report on Rogue Security Software can be downloaded here http://eval.symantec.com/mktginfo/enterprise/white_papers/b-symc_report_on_rogue_security_software_WP_20100385.en-us.pdf

They are designed by criminals to look genuine. Symantec’s report lists the top reported rogue security software.

1. Spyware Guard 2008
2. AntiVirus 2008
3. AntiVirus 2009
4. Spyware Secure
5. XPAntivirus
6. WinFixer
7. SafeStrip
8. Error Repair
9. Internet Antivirus
10. DriveCleaner

If you are worried about scareware, virus, malware please contact your IT Support helpdesk.

Click Clever Click Safe

By September 2011 all children from the age of 5 will be taught internet safety at school. Click Clever Click Safe is the first UK child internet safety strategy. It means that social networking websites, retailers, schools and charities must adhere to the Digital Code.

Full details of the strategy can be downloaded here http://publications.teachernet.gov.uk/eOrderingDownload/Click-Clever_Click-Safe.pdf

Survey by Computer People, IT Recruitment Specialists

Research by Computer People, IT recruitment specialists found that 71% of technology workers are considering working overseas.

Of those surveyed:

92% said they were looking for a new job or watching the job market.
39% of permanent workers and 35% of contract workers are considering changing career.

The report also says that 77% of IT workers surveyed rate job security and career progression as extremely important or very important - this is up from 54% in 2008.

The full press release by Computer People can be read here.

Most Britons are not tech savvy

According to BCS, most Britons are not tech savvy!

According to the report, only 20% of the population are IT savvy.

BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT has launched a new microsite called Savvy Citizens http://savvycitizens.bcs.org to help people become more savvy. It contains resources about

• Safety
• Communication
• Commerce
  

and other topics.

Laptop Cases

Where's the best place to buy a laptop case?

I-nique is a great online store to buy cases for laptops, mp3 players, iPhone and more! It sells a huge range of stylish laptop cases that keep the item protected, yet still provide easy access for quick use.

It's a great place to buy Christmas gifts from too. See http://www.i-nique.com/.

You can also buy laptop cases from high street stores such as PC World and many online stores such as Amazon.

Secure Shopping Online

To ensure that shopping online is safe and secure, PayPal and RBS WorldPay have some tips:

PayPal - https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=xpt/Marketing/securitycenter/buy/OnlineShoppingTips-outside

RBS WorldPay - http://www.rbsworldpay.com/shopper/index.php?page=safety

Always ensure that you have anti-virus software on your computer.

Never give out your passwords and ...... if it looks too good to be true, it probably is!

IT Jobs on Twitter

Looking for a job in IT?

Follow IT Jobs Tweet on Twitter at twitter.com/ITJobsTweet.

Let us know if you have found an IT job through Twitter.

How to clean a laptop screen

How do I clean my laptop screen?

Turn off your computer so that you can see the dust and marks on your screen.

Use a micro fibre cloth and use distilled water. Apply a small amount of distilled water onto the cloth so that it is just moist.

Wipe the cloth across the screen gently.

DO NOT Scrub and apply pressure.
DO NOT wipe the screen with tissue, kitchen towel, etc because they contain wood fibres.
DO NOT use window cleaner as it contains ammonia which can degrade your screen.

Livescribe PulseTM Smartpen

Livescribe PulseTM Smartpen

The Livescribe PulseTM Smartpen is a pen that records your writing and records sound – useful for meetings.

It needs to be used with specially designed paper that contains dots to map everything written.

Features:

• Audio jack
• Power button
• Infrared camera that captures everything you write
• Speaker
• Microphone
• USB Connector
• Ink cartridge
• OLED display
• Comes with a USB cradle to sync with a Mac or PC and to recharge the pen
• 100 page ruled notebook
• 3 ink cartridges
• Case
• Upload notes to a Mac or PC

Livescribe pens can be purchased at around £170
Livescribe pads are between £10 - £20.

For more information see http://www.livescribe.com/media/pdf/Livescribe_Pulse_Specifications.pdf

Where can I find information about viruses?

The Symantec website contains full details of all the viruses ever discovered. It provides a summary of the risk, the risk level and technical details. http://www.symantec.com/norton/security_response/threatexplorer/azlisting.jsp

The Kaspersky website contains the latest malware descriptions. http://www.viruslist.com/en/viruses/encyclopedia

You can sign up on Symantec to receive an email alert when there is a serious internet security threat. http://nct.symantecstore.com/0184/security_alert.html

Antivirus Software

Is your anti-virus software working?

Some years back virus software suppliers offered 2 options as part of their services:

1. An annual licence where each year you were entitled to continual updates as viruses were found, plus an update of their Virus Engine Program itself.
2. Perpetual Licence where once you had purchased the software, you received just the updates to cope with the new viruses.

Unfortunately Perpetual Licences are less likely to pick up the newer viruses/ Spyware. If you are finding your PC and network slowing down, you may find there are viruses/spyware on your system that are not being picked up.

The test is, if you are not currently paying annually for updates, you are likely to be on the old Perpetual Licence system, which is clearly not desirable.

If you have any doubts get your system checked.

Windows 7

Windows 7 is the latest operating system to be launched by Microsoft. There are various editions available including upgrades. Microsoft has produced a quick guide on the differences.

So what’s new?

One of the things I love the most is that you can use the Snap feature to quickly open two windows side by side quickly. I might use this for opening Word and then opening Internet Explorer at the same time to gather information.

Other new features include:

• HomeGroup – connect 2+ PCs running Windows 7 to easily share you music, videos, etc. It’s password protected too.
• Jump Lists – files and programs you use frequently eg recent documents, recent songs. You can add to the jump list by dragging a document to the jump list.
• Windows Search – click the Start button and type in the search box. The documents that match your keywords will show above. You can also preview files before you open them.
• Windows Taskbar – easier to see, can rearrange them in any order you want by clicking and dragging. If you hover over a taskbar icon it will shows you a preview of the file open.

To see a full list of new features, see http://windows.microsoft.com/en-GB/windows7/products/features.

Here's a comparison chart showing the differences between Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 http://windows.microsoft.com/en-GB/windows7/products/compare.

Technology World 2009

Technology World 2009 is being held in Ricoh Arena, Coventry between 23 and 24 November 2009.

It’s a meet the buyer event for companies wanting to expand their business internationally. It has been organised by UK Trade and Invest.

It also has seminars running:

• Cambridge Wireless - Mobile Health, which will explore examples of the technology applicable to remote monitoring, telecare, the SMART House, wireless tracking and self- managed health. Speakers from Orange, Hidalgo, University of Birmingham & MiLife
• Intellect – Software as a Service
• Low Carbon South West – Green Technology
• Digital Communications KTN – next generation access.
• Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) – Linking with Research: How to access the best of UK university innovation. Speakers from IBM, Microsoft & Universities of Bristol & Manchester.

It costs £100 for a day pass and £150 for a two day pass.

More details can be found here https://www.uktradeinvest.gov.uk/ukti/fileDownload/Technology_World_Invite.pdf?cid=434444

Netbooks vs Notebooks

What is the difference between a netbook and a notebook?

Here are just a few obvious differences:

• A netbook is smaller than a notebook.
• A netbook is usually cheaper to buy than a notebook.
• A netbook has really been designed to be very portable, inexpensive and efficient to run; it’s screen size is between 7 and 10 inches.
• A notebook has a larger hard drive.
• Netbooks do not have a DVD drive (they do have usb ports).
• The battery life is usually longer on a netbook.

If any readers would like to share more detailed differences, please comment.

Deleting blank rows in Excel

Can I delete blank rows in Excel?

Yes, highlight the cells that you want to remove the blank rows from.

• Press F5 on your keyboard.
• Choose Special
• Select Blanks
• OK - this will select all the blank rows
• Select Edit, Delete Cells, Entire Row

Google, Yahoo! and Hotmail Phishing Problem

Google, Yahoo! and Hotmail email accounts have all be the victims of phishing. Over the last few days there have been various reports about how lists of email accounts and passwords have been posted on Pastebin.

Change your passwords ASAP.

Best practice recommends that passwords must be changed every 120 days and they should not be reused.

We recommend using a pass phrase which is a combination of a memorable word mixed with some numbers, for example, 1dIwtl&e - one day i'll win the lottery and escape.

Best practice is to create a password that has:

• at least 8 characters
• at least 1 lower case letter
• at least 1 upper case letter
• at least 1 number
• at least 1 special character (?, *, %, etc)

Passwords must not:

• be all or part of your account ID
• be all or part of your account name
• be blank
• contain dictionary words
• contain more than 2 repetitive characters (Mmmmmm1, Ab77777, etc)
• contain substituted numbers and symbols for letters (3 for E, $ for S, etc)

The Economic Impact of Innovation

A white paper has been published by IDC and contains forecasts for the IT industry for 52 countries. To download the report in pdf format, click here.

Key points highlighted in the report include:

• IT spending for 2009 for the 52 countries will be $1.414 trillion.
• Employment in the IT industry and IT professionals will rise by 5.8m by the end of 2013.
• 51% of IT employment will be software-related.
• 75,000 new businesses will be created by the end of 2013.

The list of 52 countries and the study methodology can be found here.

Google Docs

Google Docs has announced that it will make Google Docs documents, presentations and spreadsheets publicly available for search on the internet.

See the blog article for how to stop publishing if you do not wish your Google Docs to be made public.

Microsoft Security Essentials

Microsoft has released Security Essentials which is its free anti-virus software for your home PCs.

System requirements are:

• Operating System: Genuine Windows XP (Service Pack 2 or Service Pack 3); Windows Vista (Gold, Service Pack 1, or Service Pack 2); Windows 7
• For Windows XP, a PC with a CPU clock speed of 500 MHz or higher, and 1 GB RAM or higher.
• For Windows Vista and Windows 7, a PC with a CPU clock speed of 1.0 GHz or higher, and 1 GB RAM or higher. VGA display of 800 × 600 or higher.
• 140 MB of available hard disk space.
• An Internet connection is required for installation and to download the latest virus and spyware definitions for Microsoft Security Essentials.
• Internet Browser: Windows Internet Explorer 6.0 or later.Mozilla Firefox 2.0 or later.
• Microsoft Security Essentials also supports Windows XP Mode in Windows 7.

Can be downloaded at http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/

Email etiquette

Email etiquette.

Here are some tips on sending emails:

DO

Firstly, and most importantly, ensure that you have anti-virus software on your
computer.

To - use to send direct to recipients. Check that you have the correct recipient.
Sometimes as you type in the To box, a list of names pops up as you type. Please
make sure you send the email to the correct person. I would suggest that you add
the recipient in last to prevent accidentally sending half complete emails and to
ensure that you have addressed it to the correct person.

Be very careful if you are mentioning other people in emails - sometimes when
rushing people can email it to the person they are referring to which may cause
embarassment.

CC - use to send copies of the email to recipients - ie to those that need to know
what is going on but you are not directly addressing.

BCC - use to send a blind copy of the email to a recipient or to keep email
addresses anonymous to other recipients eg when sending an enewsletter (no one
wants everyone to see their email address).

Subject: ensure you complete the Subject box. It's important for recipients to see
quickly what the subject of the email is about. If you do not complete this, some
recipients may worry it is spam and not open it.

When forwarding emails - let the person you are forwarding to know why you believe
the email is of interest to them.

Include an email signature including your name and contact details.

Use punctuation. No one wants to read an email that has been put into one long
sentence.

If you are sending a large attachment, contact the recipient first to ask if it's
OK.

DO NOT

Do not use Reply to All if the email has been sent to you as a BCC otherwise you
will reveal yourself as a recipient of the original email.

Do not forward emails to others containing passwords, proposals, quotes for work
(unless you have obtained permission from the person providing the quote), the
email addresses of others who the original was sent to (these may be private to
others outside of your company).

Do not send 'chain emails'.

Do not type everything in capital letters (shouting) or lower case letters.

Before you send:

Take time to check that:

You are sending your email to the intended recipient(s). Sometimes when completing
the To box, it can provide a selection of recipients from your address book and you
could easily choose the wrong one!

You have no spelling errors in your emails - use a spell checker but also read
through the text as spell checkers do not pick up words that are correct but are
wrong within the context of what you have typed.

The National B2B Centre in Coventry.

The B2B Centre is a publicly funded. It offers support to SMEs based in the West
Midlands. It holds a number of free events throughout the year. We've just attended
the 2nd E-Business Conference and the speakers were:

• 45 tips in 45 minutes - Susan Hallam, Hallam Internet Marketing
• email marketing best practice - Dr Dave Chaffey, Marketing Insights
• Social Media for business success - Malene Stanley, KSBKids
• Using social plug-ins to share content - James Pennington, NB2BC

The National B2B Centre www.nb2bc.co.uk website contains guides, tools, fact sheets, news and details of events.

Dr Dave Chaffey, an emarketing guru and best selling author writes a monthly column
for the National B2B Centre containing tips on emarketing.

Eligible business can join the National B2B Centre for free. Visit
http://www.nb2bc.co.uk/become_a_member/ to sign up.

You can also follow the National B2B Centre on Twitter at www.twitter.com/b2b_centre.

100 Oldest Domain Names on the Internet

100 Oldest Domain Names on the Internet

According to Life & Times of the forrester, here is a list of the 100 oldest domain
names on the internet along with the date each was registered. Source:
http://theforrester.wordpress.com/2007/08/13/the-100-oldest-domains-on-the-
internet/

1. 15-Mar-1985 SYMBOLICS.COM
2. 24-Apr-1985 BBN.COM
3. 24-May-1985 THINK.COM
4. 11-Jul-1985 MCC.COM
5. 30-Sep-1985 DEC.COM
6. 07-Nov-1985 NORTHROP.COM
7. 09-Jan-1986 XEROX.COM
8. 17-Jan-1986 SRI.COM
9. 03-Mar-1986 HP.COM
10. 05-Mar-1986 BELLCORE.COM
11. 19-Mar-1986 IBM.COM
12. 19-Mar-1986 SUN.COM
13. 25-Mar-1986 INTEL.COM
14. 25-Mar-1986 TI.COM
15. 25-Apr-1986 ATT.COM
16. 08-May-1986 GMR.COM
17. 08-May-1986 TEK.COM
18. 10-Jul-1986 FMC.COM
19. 10-Jul-1986 UB.COM
20. 05-Aug-1986 BELL-ATL.COM
21. 05-Aug-1986 GE.COM
22. 05-Aug-1986 GREBYN.COM
23. 05-Aug-1986 ISC.COM
24. 05-Aug-1986 NSC.COM
25. 05-Aug-1986 STARGATE.COM
26. 02-Sep-1986 BOEING.COM
27. 18-Sep-1986 ITCORP.COM
28. 29-Sep-1986 SIEMENS.COM
29. 18-Oct-1986 PYRAMID.COM
30. 27-Oct-1986 ALPHACDC.COM
31. 27-Oct-1986 BDM.COM
32. 27-Oct-1986 FLUKE.COM
33. 27-Oct-1986 INMET.COM
34. 27-Oct-1986 KESMAI.COM
35. 7-Oct-1986 MENTOR.COM
36. 7-Oct-1986 NEC.COM
37. 27-Oct-1986 RAY.COM
38. 27-Oct-1986 ROSEMOUNT.COM
39. 27-Oct-1986 VORTEX.COM
40. 05-Nov-1986 ALCOA.COM
41. 05-Nov-1986 GTE.COM
42. 17-Nov-1986 ADOBE.COM
43. 17-Nov-1986 AMD.COM
44. 17-Nov-1986 DAS.COM
45. 17-Nov-1986 DATA-IO.COM
46. 17-Nov-1986 OCTOPUS.COM
47. 17-Nov-1986 PORTAL.COM
48. 17-Nov-1986 TELTONE.COM
49. 11-Dec-1986 3COM.COM
50. 11-Dec-1986 AMDAHL.COM
51. 11-Dec-1986 CCUR.COM
52. 11-Dec-1986 CI.COM
53. 11-Dec-1986 CONVERGENT.COM
54. 11-Dec-1986 DG.COM
55. 11-Dec-1986 PEREGRINE.COM
56. 11-Dec-1986 QUAD.COM
57. 11-Dec-1986 SQ.COM
58. 11-Dec-1986 TANDY.COM
59. 11-Dec-1986 TTI.COM
60. 11-Dec-1986 UNISYS.COM
61. 19-Jan-1987 CGI.COM
62. 19-Jan-1987 CTS.COM
63. 19-Jan-1987 SPDCC.COM
64. 19-Feb-1987 APPLE.COM
65. 04-Mar-1987 NMA.COM
66. 04-Mar-1987 PRIME.COM
67. 04-Apr-1987 PHILIPS.COM
68. 23-Apr-1987 DATACUBE.COM
69. 23-Apr-1987 KAI.COM
70. 23-Apr-1987 TIC.COM
71. 23-Apr-1987 VINE.COM
72. 30-Apr-1987 NCR.COM
73. 14-May-1987 CISCO.COM
74. 14-May-1987 RDL.COM
75. 20-May-1987 SLB.COM
76. 27-May-1987 PARCPLACE.COM
77. 27-May-1987 UTC.COM
78. 26-Jun-1987 IDE.COM
79. 09-Jul-1987 TRW.COM
80. 13-Jul-1987 UNIPRESS.COM
81. 27-Jul-1987 DUPONT.COM
82. 27-Jul-1987 LOCKHEED.COM
83. 28-Jul-1987 ROSETTA.COM
84. 18-Aug-1987 TOAD.COM
85. 31-Aug-1987 QUICK.COM
86. 03-Sep-1987 ALLIED.COM
87. 03-Sep-1987 DSC.COM
88. 03-Sep-1987 SCO.COM
89. 22-Sep-1987 GENE.COM
90. 22-Sep-1987 KCCS.COM
91. 22-Sep-1987 SPECTRA.COM
92. 22-Sep-1987 WLK.COM
93. 30-Sep-1987 MENTAT.COM
94. 14-Oct-1987 WYSE.COM
95. 02-Nov-1987 CFG.COM
96. 09-Nov-1987 MARBLE.COM
97. 16-Nov-1987 CAYMAN.COM
97. 16-Nov-1987 ENTITY.COM
99. 24-Nov-1987 KSR.COM
100. 30-Nov-1987 NYNEXST.COM

Favicons

What is a favicon?

A favicon is a small icon which appears to the left of your website address in the browser's address bar.

When a user adds your website to their favourites, the icon will appear next to the name.
Your website designer can organise this for you.

Save Microsoft Office Documents as a PDF

Is it possible to save a document as a PDF?

Yes, there are two options.

1. There is a Microsoft Add-in that works with 2007 Microsoft Office programs
including:

• Microsoft Office Access 2007
• Microsoft Office Excel 2007
• Microsoft Office InfoPath 2007
• Microsoft Office OneNote 2007
• Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007
• Microsoft Office Publisher 2007
• Microsoft Office Visio 2007
• Microsoft Office Word 2007

2. Print as a PDF.

We have previously posted a blog article on this topic. See
http://softwareandsupport.blogspot.com/2009/05/free-pdf-printer.html

Women in technology needed for research

The Women In Technology website www.womenintechnology.co.uk reports that Rachel Dines of Forrester Research is conducting research into how women and minority groups are recruited into IT.

The data will be used for a report on recruitment methods in networking, databases, helpdesk, storage and telecoms.

Rachel Dines is a researcher focusing on data centre technologies, facilities, infrastructure, management, virtual infrastructure and automation technologies.

You can follow Rachel Dines on Twitter at http://twitter.com/RachelDines

WordPress Worm on outdated software

According to a WordPress blog article, some WordPress users have been targeted by a worm. This is only affecting WordPress software which is outdated.

If you are using an old version of WordPress, upgrade now as the 2.8.4 version of WordPress is immune to the worm. Download at http://wordpress.org/download

WordPress recommends that if you have been targeted to carry out the following:

• Scan you local machine.
• Check with your hosting provider to determine if it is a hack.
• Change your passwords.
• Make a backup of your files and database.

To read a full list of recommendations visit http://codex.wordpress.org/FAQ_My_site_was_hacked

Which version of Windows do I have?

How can I find out what version of Windows I have on my PC?

Click on the Start button

If there is a Search Box above this, type the word winver and press enter. If not, click Run and in the Open box type winver

A box will pop up showing you details of the Windows version you have.

Checking Microphone Sound

How can I test if the microphone on my headset is working?

If using Windows XP:

• Click on Start
• All Programs
• Accessories
• Entertainment
• Sound Recorder
• Click on the Record button and speak - you will be able to see if it is working.

If using Windows Vista:

• Click on Start
• All Programs
• Accessories
• Sound Recorder
• Click the Record button and speak - you will be able to see if it is working.

IT Qualifications

Where can I study for an IT qualification?

There is an IT Diploma. There are approximately 141,000 newly qualified professionals required in the UK every year.

The following qualifications in IT are available:

IT Diploma - available for 14-19 year olds and designed in collaboration with Vodafone, BT, Cisco, EDS, IBM, John Lewis Partnership, Microsoft, Logical, Oracle Academy and CA. See a video http://www.e-skills.com/diploma.

The British Computer Society has information on IT qualifications. See www.bcs.org
Some IT courses are available via distance learning such as from The International Correspondence Schools:

Introduction to Computer Programming. See http://www.icslearn.co.uk/it-technical-courses/programming-game-design/computer-programming-introduction/
Topics include:

• Computer hardware
• Principles of Programming
• Elements of Computer Programming
• Operating Systems
• Data Processing and Organisation
• HTML and JavaScript
• Visual Basic

This course requires around 100 hours of study. The cost of the course is currently £341.10

Microsoft has it's own certification and details can be found at http://learning.microsoft.com/manager/catalog.aspx

Can you recommend any others?

Tweeters

Are you using Twitter?

Recommendations to follow:
http://twitter.com/computerweekly
http://twitter.com/guardiantech
http://twitter.com/googlenews
http://twitter.com/MicroSoft

Any other recommendations? Let us know!

Funding for new Technology projects

Great to see successful technology developers giving something back!

The Deshpande Center, established at the MIT School of Engineering in 2002 , aims to increase the impact of MIT technologies in the marketplace. Founded with an initial donation by Jaishree and Desh Deshpande, the Center depends on the financial and professional support of successful alumni, entrepreneurs, and investors to provide a sustainable source of funding for innovative research and guidance to help it reach the marketplace.

Since 2002, The Deshpande Center has

• Funded more than 80 projects
• With over $9 M in grants
• 18 projects have spun out of the center into commercial ventures
• Having collectively raised over $140 M in outside financing
• 13 venture capital firms have invested in these ventures

Anyone know of one of these in the UK?

Mobile analytics tools

Distimo has created tools to provide developers with mobile analytics.

These free tools analyze the performance of mobile applications’ across application stores.

As would be expected, all major app stores are supported, allowing developers to see how their work performs across platforms and stores. It has been called a 'Google Analytics' for mobile applications.

Online shift changing tool

Many new websites are appearing and we thought this was an interesting one.

http://havemyshift.com allows hourly paid workers to trade shifts. This will be really successful when people get their co-workers onto the site using it on a regular basis.

Clever internet tool that allows people to post the shifts they can’t make and allows others to pick up these shifts. The website searches through everyone listed on the site and makes suggestions.

What's your favourite new website?

take a photo. send a postcard

A new iPhone app allows you to take a photo and this converts into a postcard to send to your friends or colleagues.

Aimed at the US market to start with, goPostal delivers your postcard via U.S. Mail. Each postcard costs $1.29 when using the iPhone application, which includes postage. goPostal also uses state of the art SSL security to verify that all of your information is securely transmitted.

http://www.printyourlife.com/

256GB USB Stick

Kingston Technology has launched a 256GB USB stick. It's called the DataTraveler 300 and provides users with password protection and comes with a 5 year warranty.

For the full specification see http://www.kingston.com/ukroot/press/2009/prmn0907b.asp

Acer Aspire Revo

The Acer Aspire Revo is extremely small (180 mm x 180 mm x 30 mm) and has been designed so that it can be attached to the back of a PC monitor.

Features, amongst many other include:

• A very capable but extremely low power processor.
• New graphic chip geared towards producing stunning output for HD and Blu-ray movies.

You can see some images here.

Full specs on the Acer website.

Meetings Online

We need to hold an online meeting. Can you suggest any software I can use?

Yes, GoToMeeting offers users the facilities to set up an online meeting.

Features include:

• Record meetings.
• Use drawing tools.
• Use phone conferencing and/or VoIP.
• Share keyboard and mouse.
• Instantly change presenters.

There are various packages available to suit your needs depending on how many times you want to use GoToMeeting and the number of users.

There is a free trial at the moment which allows 30 days free use. It does ask for your credit card details and you must cancel within these 30 days if you do not wish to continue using it. If you do not, your credit card will be charged.

Clearing Web History in Google

How do I clear my web history in Google?

Go to www.google.co.uk

Login to 'My Account' and select Web History.

Click on Remove Items which can be found down the left hand column.

Choose Clear entire Web History

This clears your web history and pauses the feature. You can resume this straight away if you want.

YouSendIt

I need to send a large email to a client , however it keeps on bouncing back – any ideas?

There are various ways you can send a large file to a client:

Burn the files to a CD and post it.

Copy the files onto a USB stick and post it.

If the files are urgent though, you will want to send them via email. YouSendIt offers users a facility to send files up to 2GB.

It has a free trial which lasts for 14 days. Visit www.yousendit.com for more information.

Tax for broadband

The government's Digital Britain report contains details of a 50p monthly charge on landline phones. The reports states that this is necessary to enable fast broadband to every household and business in the UK.

The tax will start in 2013 with the installation of fibre-optic cables completed in 2017.

To read the full report, see http://www.culture.gov.uk/images/publications/digitalbritain-finalreport-jun09.pdf

Buying Domain Names

How do I get a domain name?

Firstly you have to choose one and check that it’s available. You can do this by searching on eg http://www.namesco.co.uk/ and entering in the domain name in the search box. Once you have chosen your domain name, you can purchase it using a debit or credit card.

Alternatively, your IT support company or web developer can do this for you - usually at a cheaper rate.

Dell for him and Della for her

Dell launched Della in May 2009. It's a website aimed at women and is split into products, featured artist, tech tips and giving.

Its tech tips feature 5 ways to use a netbook and include:

• Getting organized - tips on organising your office / vacation.
• Get smarter - how to manage ebooks.
• Get moving - track workouts, listen to mustic.
• Get more - adding storage
• Get up and travel - blog about your travelling experience, track weather, etc.

Its products section advertises the features and benefits of mini netbooks and has an accessories section aimed at women including The Kate Handbag for your laptop.

Lots of comments from women on the site, some love it and some think it's a little insulting. Check it out for yourself at www.dell.com/della.

Filtering emails in Gmail

Do you know if I can block emails in my Gmail account?

You can't block emails but you can delete them as soon as they arrive into your inbox.

• Login and go to Settings
• Click Filters
• Create a new filter.
• Fill in the details and click next step.
• You can choose to delete the message, forward it, etc.
• Click Create Filter

Your new filter has been created.

Xobni

What's Xobni?

It's inbox backwards! Xobni organises emails and is an 'Outlook plugin to search people, email and attachments instantly' http://www.xobni.com/

It's free to download and provides a pane on the right hand side which shows the email sender's contact details when you click on an email, which contacts you share, a list of conversations relating to the email sender and files exchanged.

It's easy to use and keeps track of your emails and conversations.

Expenses solution

Firm offers Gordon Brown solution to MPs’ expenses row - this is a recent press release we've issued. Any other ideas for expenses filters to be added?


Acutec, which has offices in the West Midlands, UK, developed the e-Calcs Expense programme for a range of hospitals in the region 10 years ago and it works out to the penny how much each member of staff can claim in expenses.

The software, say company bosses, is ideal for organisations needing to keep track of 500 people or more – and is now offering it free of charge to the powers that be in Westminster.

Now, managing director Chris Roche is writing to his local MP and Prime Minister Gordon Brown to offer the system for free to help Parliament number crunchers keep track of expenses.

Roche said: “I think everyone in the country has been shocked at what has been going on in Westminster and just how many MPs have been caught up over expenses. “Our software could have avoided many of the problems because it’s simple and easy to use and sets out exactly what can be claimed on expenses and tracks every penny along the way.

“Westminster, with 646 MPs, is the perfect size for e-Calcs Expense and I hope they take up our offer. “I am not sure exactly what system they have been operating under but everyone who has used the e-Calcs Expense Programme says it has made it much more efficient and cost effective. “It doesn’t have a filter on there to recognise if people are trying to claim for duck pond accessories or biscuits – but we can add one if necessary!”

Bing

What's Bing?

Bing is Microsoft's new search engine or "decision engine".

It describes itself as "a search engine (and decision engine) that finds and organizes the answers you need so you can make faster, more informed decisions".

Search results in Bing include a summary pane of the website when you hover your mouse to the right of each listing which is great if you don't want to click through each result.

Bing can be found at www.bing.co.uk and videos of its commercials can be seen on its YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/user/bing.

A video explaining Bing can be found at http://www.decisionengine.com/Default.html

Google Analytics

How do I add Google Analytics to my website?

First of all, you will need to create a Google Account at http://www.google.com/analytics/ if you do not already have one (if you have one, log in). Once this has been done you will be able to set up a website profile.

Once you have entered in the website you want to add Google Analytics to, Google will provide you with the code.

Google's instructions are to "Copy the following code block into every webpage you want to track immediately before the body tag"

You may need to ask your web developer to add the code for you.

Orange’s Research into Home Working

Orange commissioned research into home working and found that:

• 72% of UK businesses believe flexible working boosts company morale
• 53% improves believe it improves productivity
• 58% improves staff retention

However, 50% of staff are not provided with the technology to work from home.

• It found the following percentage of workers were provided with:
• Laptop - 46%
• Mobile phone - 35%
• Virtual Private Network (VPN) - 29%
• Broadband - 23%
• Smart phone - 11%

The full press release of the findings can be found here.

If you would like more information setting up IT to work from home, contact Acutec.

Desktop Wallpaper in Vista

How do I change my desktop wallpaper in Vista?

• Go to your desktop
• Right Click
• Choose Desktop Background

There is a selection of Windows wallpapers shown, choose one of these or choose your own from Pictures or Sample Pictures, Public Pictures or Solid.

Google Query Suggestions

How do I stop Google from showing me possible searches as I type?

This is quick and easy to do.

In google.co.uk select

• Search Preferences which is to the right of the search box the
• Query Suggestions (at the bottom of the page)
• Choose the "Do not provide query suggestions in the search box".

Spreadsheet Duplicates in Excel 2007

Is there any easy way to check a spreadsheet for duplicates in Excel 2007?

• Yes, open up Excel 2007
• Click the Home tab
• Choose Conditional Formatting
• Highlight Cells Rules
• Click Duplicate Values
• Click OK

Excel will highlight the duplicates for you so that you can delete them / change them.

Outlook 2007 with Business Contact Manager

What is Business Contact Manager?

Business Contact Manager allows the user to store contact information, however, it offers so much more. Business Contact Manager can:

• Organise prospect and customer information in one place
• Manage sales leads and opportunities
• Create, personalise and track direct marketing campaigns
• Centralise project information and task management.

For full details see http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/contactmanager

iGoogle

What's iGoogle?

iGoogle is your own personalised Google page. You will need to have a Google account. Once logged in you can choose to add items to your page that you regularly look at such as weather, news, rss feeds.

Once logged in click on "Add stuff" and choose what you want to fill your iGoogle page. Every time you login you will see your personalised page.

Choose from:

• Tools eg To Do
• Communication eg Google Calendar
• Fun & Games - eg PacMan
• Finance - eg Google Finance Portfolios
• Sports - eg ESPN.com
• Lifestyle -eg MoviesTechnology
• Technology - eg Tech Stuff
• Politics - eg Political Quote of the Day

Visit www.google.com/ig to find out more and set up your own iGoogle page.

Splashup

I'm looking for free photo editor software, any ideas?

Yes, try Splashup.com it's a photo editor.

You need to install Adobe Flash Player if you don't have it already.

It describes itself as "a powerful editing tool and photo manager. With the features professionals use and novices want, it's easy to use, works in real-time and allows you to edit many images at once. "

Free PDF Printer

I need to convert something to PDF - is there a free program on the internet?

Yes, there are a few just search on the internet for "free PDF printer".

Bullzip Free PDF Printer is a good program which is simple to install and PDFs can be password protected. It also runs on Windows Vista.

http://www.bullzip.com/products/pdf/info.php

Apple iPhone Hard Reset

How do I carry out a hard reset on my iPhone?

Hold down the circular button at the bottom and at the same time the off / on button on the top right of your iPhone! Ignore the slide to power off and then hold down the off / on button to turn it back on again.

Installing a new font

How do I install a new font on my PC?

You will need to go to your Control Panel which can be accessed from the Start menu.

So, click Start, Control Panel and Fonts then File, Install New Font.

Choose the location where the fonts are that you want to install and the list of fonts available in that location will show in the box.

Highlight these and choose OK. Your new fonts will be installed and ready to use.

Shorten URLs for Twitter

I'm using Twitter and need to add a link - is there any way I can shorten the link - Tweets are only 140 characters long?

Yes, visit www.tinyurl.com and enter in your link eg http://softwareandsupport.blogspot.com/ and tinyurl will make it much shorter - give it a try.

You can also use http://twitpwr.com

Apple's iPod Touch for the US Military

According to an article on Newsweek, the US military are now using Apple's iPod Touch to connect with each other, translate languages and show video messages to villagers.

Internet Explorer 8

How do I get Internet Explorer 8?

Internet Explorer 8 is not automatically installed on your PC via Windows Update. If you want to install it on your PC, you will need to go to the Microsoft Download site at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/worldwide-sites.aspx

Exporting from Outlook to Excel

You can export addresses from Microsoft Outlook to Excel as follows:

1. Opening Outlook
2. Choose File, Import and Export
3. Choose "Export to a File"
4. Click "Next"
5. Choose "Microsoft Excel"
6. Click "Next"
7. Choose "Contacts" as the folder to export from
8. Click "Next"
9. "Save exported file as" and choose a name for your file
10.Click "Next" and then Finish

You might need to delete some of the columns from Excel that aren't relevant.

Cookies

What is a cookie?

A cookie is a small text file on your computer that stores your preferences. This means that when you visit a website, the site remembers information and uses it to offer a personalised experience, for example, Amazon when making recommendations for you and ecommerce websites where items can be stored in the shopping cart until you return to the website.

Websites will normally provide details about how they use cookies - these can usually be found within their privacy policy.

It is possible to block cookies - here's how to do it in Internet Explorer and Firefox.

• Internet Explorer - select Tools, Internet Options, choosing the Privacy tab and moving the bar up to Block All Cookies.
• Firefox - select Tools, Options, Privacy and untick the Accept cookies from sites.

Search Engine Optimisation Companies

We've been contacted by an SEO company who say they know someone who works at Google and they can guarantee good rankings for us - is this true?

No!

Google states "No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google. Beware of SEOs that claim to guarantee rankings, allege a "special relationship" with Google, or advertise a "priority submit" to Google. There is no priority submit for Google. In fact, the only way to submit a site to Google directly is through our Add URL page or by submitting a Sitemap and you can do this yourself at no cost whatsoever."

Google suggests some questions when looking to hire a search engine optimisation company:

• Can you show me examples of your previous work and share some success stories?
• Do you follow the Google Webmaster Guidelines?
• Do you offer any online marketing services or advice to complement your organic search business?
• What kind of results do you expect to see, and in what timeframe?
• How do you measure your success?
• What's your experience in my industry?
• What's your experience in my country/city?
• What's your experience developing international sites?
• What are your most important SEO techniques?
• How long have you been in business?
• How can I expect to communicate with you?
• Will you share with me all the changes you make to my site, and provide detailed information about your recommendations and the reasoning behind them?

GIF or JPEG?

I have no idea when to save a file as a gif or a jpeg - help!

GIF format is usually used for saving logos and graphics and JPEG is for photographs. There are a number of full explanations on the internet - just Google for "jpeg or gif".

Adding symbols to Word documents

I need to type some French words but can’t see how to add the accents on my keyboard – how do I do this?

There are a number of ways you can type letters for different languages, for example, if you open Word, and choose Insert, Symbol, click the drop down menu labelled Font to choose the font you want and click the drop down menu labelled Subset eg Latin-1 Supplement. The symbols will appear underneath – choose the one you want eg é and click insert.

If you regularly type in a different language, it may be useful to learn the shortcut codes – here are a couple:

[Hold down the Alt key and on the number key pad type the number and release the keys]

• Alt and 130 = é (é can also be typed by holding down the Alt Gr key and typing e)
• Alt and 135 = ç

Have a look in the Symbols menu on Word for more (the shortcut code is also displayed).

Email Spam's Carbon Footprint

The Carbon Footprint of Email Spam Report by McAfee and ICF International published this year reports that "an estimated worldwide total of 62 trillion spam emails were sent in 2008" and "the annual global spam footprint is equivalent to 3 million passenger vehicles on the road annually".

This is because of the amount of time users spend on searching for and deleting spam.
The full report can be found at http://img.en25.com/Web/McAfee/CarbonFootprint_12pg_web_REV_NA.pdf

Remove Program from PC

I want to remove a program from my computer that I have installed - how do I do this?

This is a straightforward process in Windows:

1. Start
2. Control Panel
3. Add or Remove Programs
4. Choose the program from the list that you want to remove
5. Click Change/Remove button

How Google works

We’re interested in finding out more about Google and how it works. We know that within Google there are areas for developers, where else can we get information about Google?

YouTube contains the official Google channel, called ‘Webmaster Central’ and in this there are resources for webmasters to help you with your crawling and indexing questions, introduce you to offerings that can enhance and increase traffic to your site and connect you with your visitors.

Recent videos include

• Does the position of keywords in the URL affect ranking?
• Will Google use non-link references as a signal?

There is a special area inside Google.com which is also called Google Webmaster Central. This contains a help area, blog and lots of tools.

How do we keep up with Twitter?

We don't have an iPhone, just the office pc. Other than posting direct from Twitter web, what are our options?

There are a few ways to tweet. Several of these applications enable you to make one post which simultaneously tweets, adds to your blog and Facebook. Some allow you to schedule tweets in advance and will shorten URL links.

http://www.techhit.com/OutTwit/
Designed for Microsoft Outlook users, who have it open all the time. Update your Twitter status and follow your friends without having to open any other applications. OutTwit seamlessly integrates Twitter into Outlook.

http://twitterfeed.com/
This service will automatically twitter any post that you publish on your blog.

http://www.tweetdeck.com/beta/
Tweetdeck integrates services from Twitter, Twitscoop, 12seconds, Stocktwits and now Facebook. It has greater functionality for sorting out your tweets.

Tweetdeck enables users to split their main Twitter feed (All Friends) into columns allowing a broader overview of tweets. It allows you to group people together and search across the twittersphere. Grouping friends or work colleagues separately means you have a window on all aspects of your twitter life.


http://www.twhirl.org/
This runs on both Windows (2000/XP/Vista) and Mac OSX connects to multiple Twitter, laconi.ca, Friendfeed and Seesmic accounts. It displays notifications for new messages and follows topics in near-real time with saved searches automatically. It find tweets mentioning your @username.

http://hootsuite.com
This does most of the above and allows you to have multiple user profiles. If you have a personal and business Twitter ID this can be useful.

Open Day – Computime & ACUTEC join forces

Coleshill based Acutec and Coventry company Computime have just merged. We would like to invite you to our Open Day to meet with the whole team at St Peter’s House, Church Hill, Coleshill, Birmingham, B46 3AL.

When is it taking place?

Next week, on Thursday 2nd April 2009 at Acutec in Coleshill – the Open Day starts at 11:00 with coffee and pastries, there is also a buffet at lunchtime and the event finishes at 14:00.

How do I book?

To book your place, call the admin team 01675 469020 or email info@acutec.co.uk

eNewsletters

I want to send my clients enewsletters, can you suggest a good program to use?

eShotter allows you to create and send out email communications easily. You can use it for newsletters, alerts or updates.

The results can be measured as the hyperlinks can be tracked, so you know where they come from. Recipients who receive the email and open it can also be tracked.

eShotter is easy to use, comes with templates, incorporates automatic unsubscribe handling and much more. Contact us for more information.

Google AdWords voucher

Google are offering free trials of their Google Adwords advertising again!

To get a free £40 of advertising from Google you need

1. A Google account (it’s also free)
2. To visit https://adwords.google.co.uk
3. To enter your promotional code 3Q5Y-LWA8-J8AD-7NKG-GG
   

This code expires on 30th April 2009 and to redeem the voucher, click on the Billing Preferences tab and enter the code.

This is a great way to test market a new product or service and to see the results generated by Google.

What does the future hold?

My first introduction to a computer was a megalithic piece of equipment that took up a whole room. There was even a safety bar around the edge and we had strict instructions not to touch it!

I progressed to a PC, although I think it was the heaviest piece of kit on the planet. And do you remember life before thinner, lighter screens?

We’ve moved on so much from the blinking orange or green cursor on the screen to a more user friend WYSIWYG approach.

We’re in an era of constant contact where many people want to stay in touch with friends all day long. Facebook, Twitter and the Apple iPhone have made this easier. We probably know more about our friends and their lives than we ever did. Online digital diaries recording every important or eventful element of our lives.

New websites evolve with content from their users which is a complete turn around form the traditional approach to seeking copywriters, agreeing themes and developing storylines. It all happens at the click of a mouse.

Computers are ‘learning’ all the time. My PC decides which emails to show me and which to add to my spam box. Shopping websites retain my preferences.

So what’s ahead of us?

How do you see the future of technology in your life? Do share your thoughts with us!

Classic Menu for Office 2007

I'm finding the Office 2007 menu bar difficult to use, is there anyway I can change some setting so that I see the 2003 menu bar?

If you want to use Office 2007 with the Microsoft Office 2003 menu bar, you can download the software free at www.addintools.com/english/menuoffice.

Server backups

My server backup keeps on asking for another tape - what should I do?

This sounds as though the server backup is too big for one tape.

There are a couple of things you can do to reduce the size you are backing up.

1. Remove files from the server that you no longer need.
2. Copy files that you want to keep but no longer need backing up regularly onto CD, USB or other storage device and them remove them from your server.
3. Ask your IT team to remove files that they know do not need backing up
4. Speak to your IT team and ask them for a different backup solution

Inserting symbols in Microsoft Word

I need to type up a document that has been written in French and need to add in a special symbol – how do I do this?

You can either hold down the Alt key on your keyboard and using the number pad, enter in the relevant code if you know it eg Alt 0233 inserts é.

To view the whole list of symbols, go to Word, Insert, Symbol, select your Font from the dropdown menu and scroll through the symbols.

Displayed at the bottom is the Shortcut key eg Alt +0231 will insert ç

These codes can be used in many programs.

Microsoft 2007 Add on

There is a 2007 Microsoft Add-in to allow you to save documents from 2007 Microsoft Office programs as PDF and XPS formats. Download the Add-in here.

Award winning team!

Two award-winning IT firms in Coventry and Warwickshire have merged, creating one of the largest companies in the sector in the region.

Computime IT Solutions, a Coventry-based company, has come together with Acutec, which is based in Coleshill, employing more than 20 staff in total.

To begin with, the newly formed Acutec-Computime will continue to operate from two offices and under the banner of their original names. They will come together under one roof later in the year.

Chris Roche, managing director of Acutec, said: “It made perfect sense. There is great synergy between the two companies and this is a very exciting move as the two businesses become one.
“The two firms have built up strong reputations and have developed great expertise over many years. We intend to build on that and further enhance our strength in the region.

“This is such a fast moving industry that it is vital to seize opportunities when they come along. This was too good an opportunity to miss, particularly in the current economic climate.”
The merger sees two of the longest established IT firms joining forces. Acutec was founded in Birmingham in 1992 by Roche and now delivers hardware, IT security, network support, bespoke software, and IT consultancy services.

John Dixon set up Computime in 1985 as one of the first IT businesses in Coventry. For the past five years, the firm has been specialising in integration into the internet, telephony, accounts, and CRM as well as developing bespoke packages for clients.

Dixon said: “We had spoken some months ago about the possibility of coming together and I am delighted that the deal is now concluded.

“As companies, we have a very similar ethos. Technical expertise is, of course, the basis for IT businesses such as ours but we also put a major emphasis on outstanding customer service and I believe that is why we have, between us, more than 40 years’ experience in the industry.”
The newly merged company now has more than 300 clients across the Midlands region.
Both web addresses – http://www.acutec.co.uk/ and http://www.computime.co.uk/ – will remain online.

Using Bcc when sending emails

I want to send an email to a group people but keep the recipients anonymous from each other, how do I do this?

It is good practice to ensure that email recipients are kept anonymous from each other when sending emails to a large number of email addresses.

To do this, enter the email addresses into the Bcc box when composing a new email message instead of the To box.

Small business and selling online

Did you know?

According to a report published by BTTradespace that "six out of 10 small businesses are missing out on their share of a £20bn a year web shopping boom because they are not selling their products and services onine".

The results are from a survey carried out with 300 small businesses in the UK. The full news story can be viewed here.

Google PowerMeter

Google has announced it will be launching Google PowerMeter which is an app which allows the user to retrieve their home electricity consumption information from their utility smart meters. To see our tips on reducing your IT energy consumption see our previous blog article.

More information about Google PowerMeter can be found here.

Tech Dictionary

Need to know the meaning of a 'techie' word?

If you need to find the definition of a techie word or techie term, why not check out the TechDictionary http://www.techdictionary.com/. Or you could always just ask us!

Saving web pages in Internet Explorer

I have found some information on a website that I want to save - how do I do this?

You can save the page as an mht file. This is a bit more portable than saving it as the default Webpage, complete (*htm; html).

Visit the webpage that you want to save, click on File, Save As, choose Save as Type and Web Archive, single file (*.mht) and enter your preferred file name. Your web page is saved.

Microsoft Word Page Layout Buttons

I'm using Microsoft Word 2003 and the page layout buttons in the bottom right of my screen have gone - how do I get them back?

• Open up Word
• Click Tools, Options
• In the View tab tick the box next to Horizontal Scroll Bar and then OK.

Snow and remote working

Has your business been affected by the snow this week? Have your employees been unable to get into the office?

Acutec can help to set your business up with remote working (see previous blog post). This means that if your workers can't get into the office, they can work from home!

We can also organise email access to via an internet connection. If your office server is Microsoft Windows you can utilise Outlook webmail, this allows you to organise your email, calendar and tasks via a web browser, in other words any computer attached to the internet.

Please do contact us if you want further information about remote working.

Google Latitude

Google has launched Latitude. The new app allows users to see where their friends are on a map from their mobile phone location. Visit http://www.google.com/mobile/default/latitude.html to send invitations to your friends - sharing will begin when both parties agree to share this information.

Non mobile phone users can receive an invitation from a friend / member of family so that they can login to Latitude and see where their friends are at any time.

You will need to check that your mobile is support by Latitude. This information is available on the Google Latitude website.

You can also hide your location at any time ...

Phishing Scam

I've received an email from Google asking me to confirm my contact details by clicking a link and completing a form. I'm suspicious.

Do not click on the link and complete for form. You will notice that if you hover over the the link that it usually displays a different website address. This is a phishing scam.

Google states on its Adwords Help the following:

"Please remember that Google's AdWords team will never send an unsolicited message asking for your password or other sensitive information by email or through a link.

If you've received a phishing email that attempts to fraudulently collect passwords, credit card numbers and other sensitive information, please report to us immediately by completing the Report Phishing Form.

If you ever need to change your account information, such as your billing details or your password, you should always sign in to your account from the main AdWords login page (https://adwords.google.co.uk) and make the changes directly within your account."

Levy to stop online piracy

Broadband could increase for each broadband connection by £20 a year according to TimesOnline.

A levy would be introduced to fund a new quango which may be set up to help stop piracy; a proposal by Lord Carter of Barnes, the Communications Minister within the Digital Britain Green Paper.

The fee would be paid for by internet service providers which could therefore be passed on to consumers.

Increasing or decreasing webpages

I can't see the full website without horizontal scrolling, how can I decrease the size quickly?

To avoid horizontal scrolling of a large web page, hold down the Ctrl key and use your mouse wheel to increase or decrease the size of the page. If you don't have a mouse with a wheel you can also change the zoom level.

SSL certificates

What is an SSL certificate?

An SSL certificate (Secure Socket Layer) is stored on a server and is mainly used by ecommerce businesses to encrypt payments using 128-bit or 256-bit SSL certificates. It also used on websites that gather sensitive information eg date of birth.

If you are using Internet Explorer 7, a padlock next to the refresh icon will appear when the site has an SSL certificate. If you click on the padlock you can view details of the certificate.

SSL certificates put customers' minds at rest that the information inputted into your website is secure and encrypted.

The Nicola Rogers ‘Business Excellence Award 2008’

We've won another award!

Our MD, Chris Roche, started Acutec over 13 years ago and prides himself on our company being recognised for its expertise and quality.

During the last 12 months this reputation has been validated by being recognised for a staggering 6 different accreditations and quality standards, including the UKITA Quality Mark.

Following on from Chris’s recent election as Chair of the Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire Branch of UKITA, the Nicola Rogers ‘Business Excellence Award 2008’ is given in recognition of the achievement of quality both within our organisation and the desire to develop the quality standards within our own sector.

Police can hack into personal computers

According to an article in the Sunday Times on 4th January 2009, Police have been given powers that will legally allow them to hack into personal computers to investigate crimes carried out over the internet. They will be able to access email content, instant messaging and web browsing history. The article states that:

A remote search can be granted if a senior officer says he “believes” that it is “proportionate” and necessary to prevent or detect serious crime — defined as any offence attracting a jail sentence of more than three years".

To read the full article visit http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article5439604.ece

Windows 7

The beta version of Windows 7 is available to download here:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/beta-download.aspx

Broadband Providers

What’s the best broadband provider?

A general overview of the best providers (by far) are currently O2 broadband and Be broadband. This is not just because they provide good customer service (apparently), but they install their own equipment within BT exchanges which is much faster than the BT equivalent.

http://broadband.o2.co.uk/

https://www.bethere.co.uk/

O2 is cheaper at approximately £12 for 8meg broadband (that’s plenty enough speed for most users!).

Microsoft Blogs

Do Microsoft do any blogs?

Yes, see the Microsoft community blogs at http://www.microsoft.com/communities/blogs/PortalHome.mspx

Cloud computing

What does the term “cloud computing” mean?

Rather than having the software being installed on your computer, applications are embedded in your web browser, for example, Google Apps http://www.google.com/apps/intl/en/business/index.html provides online applications that can be accessed using your web browser.

Happy New Year!

We would like to wish all our readers a Happy bug free year.