TechDivision eNews Winter Edition 2006
December 2006 to February 2007
Highlights:
Note from Mark Lilleyman, Managing Director
Firstly, I would like to say 'thank you' to all our customers who filled in our Summer questionnaire. Your valuable feedback has already helped us to improve our service over the last few months. I hope all those who answered enjoyed receiving our TechDivision mugs.
As TechDivision begins its third year of operation, we have been concentrating on building our resources, to offer a wider range of products to our customers. Our latest support offerings are:
Apple Mac Support - We now provide support for Apple Macs as well as PC's.
Cabling - We can now run cabling for computer networks and telephones.
Home networks - We can now provide help with setting up your home system, including configuring a wide variety of home entertainment products.
Over the next months, TechDivision has big plans to extend our product range even further. 2007 is set to be a busy year for IT, as Microsoft launches its biggest marketing push ever, with 3 major new products all set for release early next year (see IT News below). And TechDivision's mission will be to ensure that large enterprises won't be the only ones to realise the strategic benefits from these new technologies.
Finally, with the Christmas season upon us, it may be a good time to consider those long-overdue updates to your IT infrastructure. Implementing new IT systems can be very disruptive whilst staff get used to new methods of working, and many Small Businesses take advantage of the quiet period during Christmas to roll out network upgrades. If you feel you need advice about infrastructure upgrades, please get in touch with us on 020 8891 3010.
With the office move now behind us, we have been busy over the past couple of months expanding our team in order to provide you with not only a broader range of skills but a faster response time and a more efficient service. I would like to formally announce the following new members of our team:
William Tilsley - Sales Director (AKA: The Bloodhound) William will be heading up a team handling Sales and Account Management. He would like to stress that he is a total non-techie, but we're working on converting him!
Charlotte Speechley - Office Co-ordinator (AKA: The Spaniel) Charlotte has been tasked with sorting out our office. She's the one on the end of the phone, and so far the only one who seems to have worked out how to use our phone system.
Janak Odedra - In-house Techie (AKA: The Airedale) Our newest recruit, Janak will be working alongside Ian on remote support issues. Quiet but dependable (in contrast to the MD!), he's already making his mark.The rest of the TechDivision team now looks like this -
Ian Moroney - In-House Techie (AKA: The Irish Terrier) although mainly working in-house, he can be seen whizzing about on his TechMobil. Our techical expert, he loves the really knotty problems.
Chris Simons - Field Techie (AKA: The Bulldog) our main field engineer, he can been seen driving around in the TechDivision car. He is a dab hand with cabling and wiring, fixing printers, and on call for general IT support issues.
Marcus Cook - Operations Manager (AKA: The Border Collie) will head up the team of techies and is on call to help with scheduling new work and heading up ad-hoc support.
Mark Lilleyman - Managing Director (AKA: The St. Bernard) has now been 'promoted out of harm's way', and will be concentrating more on building the business, rather than creating problems for his Techies to solve!
Finally, I would like to say a big 'Thank-You' to Jane, who has now left us in order to pursue a career in teaching. In the year she worked for us, she drove our re-branding from HealthyPC, moved us into our new offices, and transformed our internal processes. She should be well prepared for her new career as a Business Studies teacher.
**CONGRATULATIONS**
Congratulations to John Strickland from Marshland International, who won our summer competition for a hammock.
IT News
Microsoft set for 'Biggest Release Ever'
After one of the most longest and most expensive software development projects in history, Microsoft have now announced the launch of three new products for next year. The first release is a replacement for Windows XP, called Windows Vista. Microsoft have made major improvements to the security of the operating system, and some very nice visual changes to the screen layout. With the objective of having Windows Vista installed on 400 million PC's within the next 24 months, you can't ignore it. Vista is set for release to Small Business customers in January of 2007.
The second major release is a new version of Microsoft Office, 2007. This includes new visual features including a 'ribbon toolbar', and various functional improvements. Coupled with Exchange Server 2007, next year will be a busy year for customers looking to maximise their IT investment. In preparation for this, TechDivision have been working on pre-release versions for several months now, and will be available to provide expert advice on these new technologies as soon as they start to roll out.
Read more on this story: Microsoft Announcement
Spam problems
Have you ever wondered why, despite turning on your spam filters, installing anti-spam software, and keeping your anti-virus up to date, spam still seems to get through? The BBC website has produced a guide to why this still happens, and provides a very interesting insight into why these notorious e-mails are still proving so difficult to block.
Read more on this story: The BBC
What is a PVR?
With new 'video-on-demand' and High-Definition services being released all the time by the likes of Telewest, Sky, and the BBC, the traditional Video recorder is looking increasingly obsolete. The 'Personal Video Recorder' looks set to finally mature as a technology during 2007. With features such as the ability to schedule the recording of an entire series with just a few click of the remote control, burn your favourite shows to a DVD, and store all your music and shows in one central location, the distinction between PC's and set-top boxes is blurring dramatically. However, choosing the right system can be a minefield of technical jargon, and the installation manual could well defeat you! We advise installation and configuration is best left to the experts, but here's Microsoft's guide to their Media Centre concept to whet your appetites:
Read more on this story: Microsoft Media Centre overview
Please note that our Christmas Opening Hours will be as follows:
Saturday 23rd December - Closed
Sunday 24th December - Closed
Monday 25th December - Closed
Tuesday 26th December - Closed
Wednesday 27th December - Open 9am - 6pm
Thursday 28th December - Open 9am - 6pm
Friday 29th December - Open 9am - 6pm
Saturday 30th December - Closed
Sunday 31st December - Closed
Monday 1st January - Closed
Tuesday 2nd January - Open as usual
That's all for now, keep watching our website for more news items, and in the meantime, the team at TechDivision would like to wish all of our customers a Merry Christmas, and a Happy and Prosperous New Year!
Our very best regards
Mark