Take advantage of the latest version of Microsoft Office Professional Plus by paying an annual subscription.
Always have access to the latest version during the term of the subscription
Spread the costs across several years rather than a large up-front payment
tKnowIT can arrange Microsoft Office ProfessionalPlus Open Value Subscription for you. We can talk you through the process. It’s quick and easy to sort out too.
TIME TO UPGRADE I.T.
Now is the time to be looking to replace your existing old computer(s). If you were considering buying a new PC or laptop then the planned increase to VAT rates should encourage you to get sorted before the New Year.
Your old machine is likely to be getting noisier, slower and hotter. Over time dust is sucked into the machine and covers the components and starts to block the fans and vents, increasing the temperature of everything and demanding the fans to run faster and for longer. Overheating components are likely to result in a more rapid system failure.
Older computer processor chips were not designed to run economically. Speed was king and they would run as fast as possible. Unfortunately they ran at 100% speed and power for 100% of the time. The modern computer processors in both PCs and laptops, like the Intel Core2Duo and new Core i Series, are designed to be energy efficient so that they can run longer on battery in laptops and generally use less electricity for day to day tasks but can increase or decrease their speeds according to the task requirements.
Everyone is encouraged to replace their 100w light bulbs with energy-efficient ones but an old PC can be consuming 200w, which is like leaving 2 lights on – and that doesn’t include your monitor which could be another 100w or more. A modern laptop in contrast could consume just 60w whilst in-use and charging the battery.
Many people were put off buying a new machine when they heard bad things about MS Windows Vista, how slow it was, how often it appeared to freeze or crash and that they had to upgrade all their other programs. MS Windows 7, its replacement, is much better. It starts faster, rarely freezes, and runs much more smoothly and efficiently. It is much more user-friendly to older programs that would run on Windows XP and has new features such as the easy to use backup software.
The choice between a desktop PC and a laptop has now been joined by netbooks, slates (and iPads), MediaCentres and All-in-one touch-sensitive devices. Choose wisely and buy something that meets your needs. Something around £400 will get you a good laptop for day-to-day internet, email and word processing; For gaming, a PC with dedicated graphics is probably more cost-effective.
In these challenging times it is useful to know that some things do come for free. When it comes to computers, software and the internet then ‘free’ can mean risks and false promises so it’s useful to know about real free software products that can be safely downloaded and installed on your PC.
Free software, commonly termed free-ware or open-source software, should not be confused with shareware, trialware or demonstration software. Avoid websites that claim to have 1000’s of software titles for free – especially if they would normally be paid for products. Also be aware that not all ‘free’ software can be used for business purposes. The most common one I find is AVG Free on business machines – which is illegal – the free edition is for personal home use only.
If you have a machine that runs a Microsoft operating system such as windows XP or windows 7 then you do get free programs such as Internet Explorer, WordPad and Paint but after that you generally need to buy additional programs.
OpenOffice (www.openoffice.org), has been around for several years now and offers a good alternative to Microsoft Office for those who need professional level word processor and spreadsheet facilities. You can create, edit and read documents in Microsoft Office formats and it has a built-in PDF save option which can be useful when sending files in a format that anyone can read without needing paid-for software.
Serif (www.serif.com) have also been around for many years offering various titles such as PagePlus for desktop publishing (business flyers, brochures, birthday invites, Christmas cards, etc), PhotoPlus (photo cropping, red-eye, recolouring, etc) and DrawPlus . In the last few years they have made older versions of these titles available for free.
The free editions can be found at www.freeserifsoftware.com
Backing up your files is very important whether it’s your family photos or your business invoices and emails. Microsoft Windows 7, and some windows versions before it, can be setup to backup your emails, photos and files but some people prefer more flexibility.
syncback (freeware edition) http://www.2brightsparks.com/downloads.html is a good option with plenty of options to cater for most people without needing to go for the paid-for editions.
Many people I encounter don’t trust the internet and refuse to use internet banking or order products and services online whilst others are doing everything online and click on every free music download offering and trying to get that Tax refund that HM Revenue & Customs apparently owe them. Hopefully you are somewhere between the two.
No anti-virus software can be 100% effective and, technically, most computer infections are no longer virus-based but come from Worm, Trojan, key-loggers and Bot attacks – commonly grouped together as Malicious-ware or malware. You should still have security software installed though and I would recommend that you use a paid-for offering and go for an Internet Security Suite which generally will include anti-virus, anti-spyware, spam filtering and a firewall. (less than £40 to cover 3 home PCs).
Even though the security software auto-updates it is best to manually run an update once a month to make sure it works, then run a full disk scan. Some infections can turn off updaters or fool the system into thinking all is well.
The rest is down to you with some caution and common sense.
Don’t open emails from unknown senders (especially if you have never given them your email address) – just delete them. If it was important then they’ll probably phone you.
Pause before you click a link in an email, on a google-type search or social-networking website. Is it really from who you think it is? The majority of infected machines I encounter at the moment are due to rogue facebook links. A sign of this can be a prompt to install a ‘plug-in’ to allow you to open a photo or video from a friend – bad idea – stop and run a full scan of your PC.
Make sure you regularly backup your documents and photos just in case.
Losing data such as designs, contracts and invoices in business can be costly; one survey suggested that only 6% of companies survive from a catastrophic data loss. At home, losing personal CVs, letters and digital photos can be heart-breaking too.
Virus attacks, computer crashes and hard disk failures can all lead to corrupt or lost files, programs or even the operating system. Accidently pressing delete on the wrong file can also be a problem.
In its simplest form making a backup involves copying and pasting your files from your computer onto an external source such as a CDROM, USB Memory stick or External Hard Disk. Files or folders should be copied and not moved. Copying means you have a duplicate of the original – moving it means you have just moved the risk elsewhere; External sources such as those mentioned are prone to loss or damage also.
For home users, memory sticks and external USB or networked hard disks are the recommended options today. If you’re a business without a server or a home with several computers then a networked hard disk can be the best option as you can store to a central location. Online backup services are been promoted heavily today but you need to consider your broadband speed, annual costs and their maturity as a service.
‘Copy & paste’ will work for each backup but it’s worth looking at ‘backup programs’ to make it easier in the future. Most backup programs can be set to run automatically and also only copy files that have changed since the last backup – so after the first backup future backups take only a few minutes usually.
The free version of SyncBack will meet most people’s needs. Another good program is Acronis TrueImage, which although not free, offers additional options including creating an image of your entire computer. This can make recovery of your entire computer, not just your photos, documents and emails, much simpler; anyone who has had to reinstall their operating system and programs will appreciate how long this can take. You will also find that many USB or networked hard drives will come with backup and/or disaster recovery software – such as Iomega Prestige and eGo portable USB hard drives which come with EMC Retrospect software. Buffalo, Toshiba and Seagate (Maxtor) also do portable USB disks . And, if you have Windows 7, you can always use the built-in backup and disaster recovery software.
If you are considering a networked hard drive, often referred to as a Network Attached Storage (NAS) Device then Buffalo, Netgear, Seagate, Iomega and Acer can be recommended.
The important thing is to at least do some form of backup. Can you afford not to?
Thank you for your payment.
This section allows you to pay for support and services by credit/debit card or paypal. Please do not use this facility unless you have been asked to do so.
{loadposition tKnowITPP}
Do you want your staff to work from home or whilst away from the office ?
tKnowIT can povide you with solutions that allow your staff to access office systems even when they are not in the office.
This can be useful if strikes or weather conditions prevent staff getting to the office or your staff are on one of your clients sites and need to access some information quickly.
This could simply be the need to check emails and synchronise your schedule whilst out of the office or it could be a more advanced requirement where you need staff to have access to all their documents and programs as they would have if they were sat at their desk in the office.
tKnowIT offer a range of WebCam, NetCam and CCTV style solutions for home and business purposes.
Networked Cameras and CCTV solutions offer a range of features such as:
The Digital Recorders and cameras are all easy to use and can be installed by us or you can try a bit of DIY.
Remote support, audit and management of your PCs, laptops, servers and netbooks.
All for a low monthly fee.
tKnowIT has introduced this service to give clients the confidence that we can quickly connect to a machine, if needed, to provide technical support remotely, run regularly automated healthcheck routines and run off audit, license compliance and management reports.