By virtue of the industry we work in, we're quite keen to keep ourselves up-to-date. That obviously means ensuring our operating systems, anti-virus and other software are the latest versions. Updating will often add new features and fix problems, whether obvious or behind the scenes. Generally, it's a good idea, although not without exception.
Most modern phones also run operating systems, likely iOS or Android. One of our programmers recently updated his phone to the latest Android version, only to find it slow to a crawl and become dangerously close to unusable. A little research established he was not alone and it took about a month for a fix to be issued. The problem traced back to the phone manufacturer rather than Google but it was a frustrating few weeks.
So regular updating is valuable, but it's often worth not being in the very first wave of up-takers. Waiting for any early reports of problems may save you a lot of difficulties in the long run.
Tuesday, 7 January 2014
Monday, 23 December 2013
Time To Move On
Search the Internet for "spare parts for a model T ford" and you won't find Ford Motor Company at the top of any listings.
Search again for parts for a Ford Capri and you're likely to have the same problem. Why? Because times move on and companies have to devote their time and attention to new opportunities and stop spending time and resources on old products.
The same process applies in the computer industry. Back in 2001 Microsoft launched Windows XP and it bought a fresh change to how things were looking back then. A couple of years later, Microsoft launched Office 2003 and now both XP and Office 2003 are going to be shelved when it comes to "updates".
Support for older programs requires a team of developers to upgrade the software, ensuring that it contains the latest bug fixes and security patches. However, when you consider that this software is over 10 years old, you can understand why Microsoft and other software developers want to turn their attention and teams to keeping the up to date software protected and supported.
What does this mean for you? If you have XP or Office 2003 you need to be aware that your software will no longer receive updates around April 2014. You can still use the software, but as new security breaches are discovered, you won't get new protection from Microsoft.
"Why Move on ? I like XP!"
Good for you. If you're happy to take the time protecting your system and it runs well for you, great. We're not demanding that you change, but certainly would recommend that you consider upgrading as you'll have all the benefits of the new software along with the countless security and bug fixes over the years.
As anybody that owns a classic car will tell you, there's a certain pride and joy in running an older vehicle, but you have to be prepared to put the time and effort into keeping it running.
And as anybody that buys a brand new car will tell you, there's a certain amount of excitement discovering what all the buttons do.
Search again for parts for a Ford Capri and you're likely to have the same problem. Why? Because times move on and companies have to devote their time and attention to new opportunities and stop spending time and resources on old products.
The same process applies in the computer industry. Back in 2001 Microsoft launched Windows XP and it bought a fresh change to how things were looking back then. A couple of years later, Microsoft launched Office 2003 and now both XP and Office 2003 are going to be shelved when it comes to "updates".
Support for older programs requires a team of developers to upgrade the software, ensuring that it contains the latest bug fixes and security patches. However, when you consider that this software is over 10 years old, you can understand why Microsoft and other software developers want to turn their attention and teams to keeping the up to date software protected and supported.
What does this mean for you? If you have XP or Office 2003 you need to be aware that your software will no longer receive updates around April 2014. You can still use the software, but as new security breaches are discovered, you won't get new protection from Microsoft.
"Why Move on ? I like XP!"
Good for you. If you're happy to take the time protecting your system and it runs well for you, great. We're not demanding that you change, but certainly would recommend that you consider upgrading as you'll have all the benefits of the new software along with the countless security and bug fixes over the years.
As anybody that owns a classic car will tell you, there's a certain pride and joy in running an older vehicle, but you have to be prepared to put the time and effort into keeping it running.
And as anybody that buys a brand new car will tell you, there's a certain amount of excitement discovering what all the buttons do.
Monday, 11 November 2013
The Advantages Of Disloyalty
For any of you with an iDevice (and we're guessing that's a lot) you will probably be familiar with iMessage, the built in messaging app that comes with nearly all Apple products. Fairly solid service. However, somewhat like a spoilt child (or a multi-national, billion dollar enterprise) iMessage will not play nicely with any other messaging service or operating system. So if you have a friend who dares not to possess a Cupertino necessity, you may have to text them (remember texts) or, deep breath, talk to them.
There are, of course, perfectly viable alternatives. WhatsApp, Skype, Viber, Kik, MessageMe, Line, Voxer, BBM - take your pick, all of which have the major advantage of being cross-platform. Android, iOS, Windows, Blackberry, even Nokia (I never thought I'd say 'even Nokia'), you can communicate regardless of the device. Let's do that exercise again. Take a photograph on your iPhone, share it via Photo Stream and your iPad will be delighted. If your Windows Phone owning friend wants a copy though, they are out of luck. Be disloyal and auto-upload to Dropbox however and go share-crazy.
Another approach is one that many of us here at Estuary favour. One of us has an iPad as their tablet of choice and an Android device as their phone. On the odd occasion when a must-have app is only released on one platform, we're covered. We have recently written some apps and are ready to test them on both major platforms. The same principle applies to desktop computers. Microsoft Windows will run on an Apple Mac much easier than OSX, Apple's operating system, will run on a PC. So owning a Mac, although an expensive proposition, allows you to get the best (relatively speaking) of both worlds.
There are no perfect answers when it comes to owning tech and the product simply does not exist that will single-handedly do everything you want it to all the time. Still, some judicious purchasing will cover a lot of eventualities.
Done. (How bracket-tastic was that post?!)
There are, of course, perfectly viable alternatives. WhatsApp, Skype, Viber, Kik, MessageMe, Line, Voxer, BBM - take your pick, all of which have the major advantage of being cross-platform. Android, iOS, Windows, Blackberry, even Nokia (I never thought I'd say 'even Nokia'), you can communicate regardless of the device. Let's do that exercise again. Take a photograph on your iPhone, share it via Photo Stream and your iPad will be delighted. If your Windows Phone owning friend wants a copy though, they are out of luck. Be disloyal and auto-upload to Dropbox however and go share-crazy.
Another approach is one that many of us here at Estuary favour. One of us has an iPad as their tablet of choice and an Android device as their phone. On the odd occasion when a must-have app is only released on one platform, we're covered. We have recently written some apps and are ready to test them on both major platforms. The same principle applies to desktop computers. Microsoft Windows will run on an Apple Mac much easier than OSX, Apple's operating system, will run on a PC. So owning a Mac, although an expensive proposition, allows you to get the best (relatively speaking) of both worlds.
There are no perfect answers when it comes to owning tech and the product simply does not exist that will single-handedly do everything you want it to all the time. Still, some judicious purchasing will cover a lot of eventualities.
Done. (How bracket-tastic was that post?!)
Monday, 4 November 2013
I'm Over Here (Which Means I'm Not Over There)
Today, more than ever, people interact with social networking by means of their mobile devices, bringing images and unique interactive data to the masses.
We've often seen images of our friends on Facebook, or Twitter, or Instagram etc, with a location tag linked to the image. Gradually our photo's on our devices get organised to location, so we can quickly find images we took when were were on our holiday in some sunny or fun location.
However, with this exciting and interesting addition, comes a word of caution - particularly if our privacy settings are not closed down enough.
With today's technology and search engine power, it is not too difficult for a criminal to build up a picture of your movements if your location services are switched on to public access. They'll be able to see and work out where you are by following your twitter account, your Facebook account or your Instagram account and know when you are at various locations. And of course, while you are in a new location... you are NOT at home.
It might be easy to conclude that nobody knows where you live, but with a few deductions, a few checks on the names of the friends you have, or the school you attended or place you work, your address details could easily be discovered. We'll let your over imaginative thoughts conclude what could happen if a criminal knew where you lived and when you were not at home.
So what can we do about it?
Let's not be party poopers and suggest that we don't take photo's of our holidays (although the thought of going through hundreds of "and this is another picture of that sandwich we ate in France" photo's does make us consider this). No realistically it would be a far better idea to ensure that our location services are restricted to friends and family and make sure that those we have listed amongst friends and family are just that. Friends and family.
Technology will always have it's place in society, it's made enough of an impact to never go out of fashion in today's life, but its also open to abuse. And abused it is. It's used to advance everything, including crime. So by doing our part, we can reduce the risk of it happening to us.
We've often seen images of our friends on Facebook, or Twitter, or Instagram etc, with a location tag linked to the image. Gradually our photo's on our devices get organised to location, so we can quickly find images we took when were were on our holiday in some sunny or fun location.
However, with this exciting and interesting addition, comes a word of caution - particularly if our privacy settings are not closed down enough.
With today's technology and search engine power, it is not too difficult for a criminal to build up a picture of your movements if your location services are switched on to public access. They'll be able to see and work out where you are by following your twitter account, your Facebook account or your Instagram account and know when you are at various locations. And of course, while you are in a new location... you are NOT at home.
It might be easy to conclude that nobody knows where you live, but with a few deductions, a few checks on the names of the friends you have, or the school you attended or place you work, your address details could easily be discovered. We'll let your over imaginative thoughts conclude what could happen if a criminal knew where you lived and when you were not at home.
So what can we do about it?
Let's not be party poopers and suggest that we don't take photo's of our holidays (although the thought of going through hundreds of "and this is another picture of that sandwich we ate in France" photo's does make us consider this). No realistically it would be a far better idea to ensure that our location services are restricted to friends and family and make sure that those we have listed amongst friends and family are just that. Friends and family.
Technology will always have it's place in society, it's made enough of an impact to never go out of fashion in today's life, but its also open to abuse. And abused it is. It's used to advance everything, including crime. So by doing our part, we can reduce the risk of it happening to us.
Wednesday, 30 October 2013
What is the world coming to? (About 400mb)
I was rebuilding a work machine today and had to re-install all the drivers and software necessary for the user.
It was while downloading the mouse driver and the printer driver that I suddenly noticed that both of these seemed to take a long time in installing.
The mouse driver took longer to install than the anti virus program (We install a business/networked version of Kaspersky) and the printer driver was over 400mb, which was also bigger than the install size of the anti virus!
I couldn't believe it!
Is this a crazy pattern that developed from a sloppy practise of programming? Or is it simply the amount of code necessary to drive the hardware nowadays?
Have computers gotten so complicated, that the devices that connect to them are requiring large chunks of programs to keep control and make them accessible?
Talking of which, I need to switch my twitter enabled coffee machine on.
It was while downloading the mouse driver and the printer driver that I suddenly noticed that both of these seemed to take a long time in installing.
The mouse driver took longer to install than the anti virus program (We install a business/networked version of Kaspersky) and the printer driver was over 400mb, which was also bigger than the install size of the anti virus!
I couldn't believe it!
Is this a crazy pattern that developed from a sloppy practise of programming? Or is it simply the amount of code necessary to drive the hardware nowadays?
Have computers gotten so complicated, that the devices that connect to them are requiring large chunks of programs to keep control and make them accessible?
Talking of which, I need to switch my twitter enabled coffee machine on.
Thursday, 17 October 2013
The Benefits of a Social Network
I was quite surprised today to hear somebody say that they deleted an invite to "LinkedIn" because it was of no benefit or use to them as a salesperson.
Social Networking can be a powerful tool in enabling you to get to know the people that your friends know, and getting your business credentials across to a customer of a customer.
While its true that Social Networking has a history of being a bit of a 'gamers and gossipers way of keeping in the know', it also holds some value for businesses.
How often have you met a friend of a friend (Fig.1) and found that you have a lot in common? Or needed some work done at home, and were able to get in touch with a friend who knows somebody that can do the job reliably for you? As a human race, we prefer dealing with people that we know, than pass the work on to an unknown untrusted person that we found in the local business directory.
Social Networking can be a powerful tool in enabling you to get to know the people that your friends know, and getting your business credentials across to a customer of a customer.
Its quite normal to join a social networking site and start finding people that have similar needs to your existing customers, or who you are not normally able to approach because they don't know you.
However, now that you have a common interest, a common friend, the door has opened for you to have the opportunity in extending your network in that direction.
(Fig 2)
(Fig 2)
So don't be afraid of the technology. It's a tool that will save you a lot of leg work and will open doors of opportunity.
A properly worked Social Network has the ability to work more effectively than cold calling on the telephone. So join, fill out your profile in the best way you can, and start meeting the people that might make a difference to your working life.
Tuesday, 8 October 2013
Old Tin Can
An article in The Telegraph today, reported that Britons are losing around 5½ days because their computers are slow. This got us thinking... and calculating.
Lets say the basic wage for an office worker is around £16,000. That's around £307 per week, or £61 per day. So 5½ days at that rate is around £338.
Most IT departments would purchase a basic office machine for around £300. They'd get a reasonable machine for that price and everybody would be happy. But add another £338 to that budget and suddenly it's a different story..
The difference between the two is striking. You go from a 2 core processor to an 8. You increase your ram from 4gb to 16gb. The graphics processor leaps from a built in motherboard display to a 2gb graphics card and the storage also increases from 500gb to a 2TB drive and 128gb Solid State Drive.
Certainly the performance between the two machines would make a huge difference in the lives of the workers, increasing efficiency and reducing stress.
It doesn't surprise us to read these stats. This is something we've been a great believer in, giving the worker a full orchestra to do the job instead of expecting them to write a concerto with a tin can and a cocktail stick.
We've seen workers struggle with slow machines and seen support staff spend countless hours trying their best to find ways to tweak a little more speed out of the workstation. In the end you spend more money in time and resources than you would have spent investing in the right equipment at the beginning.
Don't be afraid of the tech and invest wisely.
Lets say the basic wage for an office worker is around £16,000. That's around £307 per week, or £61 per day. So 5½ days at that rate is around £338.
Most IT departments would purchase a basic office machine for around £300. They'd get a reasonable machine for that price and everybody would be happy. But add another £338 to that budget and suddenly it's a different story..
The difference between the two is striking. You go from a 2 core processor to an 8. You increase your ram from 4gb to 16gb. The graphics processor leaps from a built in motherboard display to a 2gb graphics card and the storage also increases from 500gb to a 2TB drive and 128gb Solid State Drive.
Certainly the performance between the two machines would make a huge difference in the lives of the workers, increasing efficiency and reducing stress.
It doesn't surprise us to read these stats. This is something we've been a great believer in, giving the worker a full orchestra to do the job instead of expecting them to write a concerto with a tin can and a cocktail stick.
We've seen workers struggle with slow machines and seen support staff spend countless hours trying their best to find ways to tweak a little more speed out of the workstation. In the end you spend more money in time and resources than you would have spent investing in the right equipment at the beginning.
Don't be afraid of the tech and invest wisely.
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