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.