Below are the IT news highlights for the period June - December 2006:
WINDOWS VISTA SET FOR RELEASE
December 2006
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
TECHDIVISION GROWS July
In addition to our office move, we have been busy over the past couple of months expanding our team of techies 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 techies:
Chris Simons - Field Techie (AKA: The Bulldog - strong and dependable)
Ian Moroney - Field Techie (AKA: The Irish Terrier - Alert and tenacious)
The TechDivision team now looks like this -
Marcus - Senior Field Techie (AKA: The Border Collie - keen, alert and responsive) will head up the team of engineers and is on call to help with scheduling new work and heading up ad-hoc support.
Mark - Managing Director (AKA: The St. Bernard - Mountain rescue dog) will be on call for all other enquiries.
We really value your feedback, so please do let us know your views on our new team and any improvements you think we should make. (Link disabled)
THE GREAT TECHDIVISION ANNUAL SURVEY
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Are you dying to give us a piece of your mind?
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How would you do it differently?
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Or...do you think we're doing a great job?
Whatever your comment, please take a moment over the summer to let us know about how we're doing, we value your feedback and are always looking for ways to improve our services.
CLICK HERE TO COMPLETE THE SURVEY (Link disabled - survey has now finished)
We anticipate it should take no longer than 10 minutes to complete
For every completed survey we will send you a TechDivision mug* and enter you in our draw for an opportunity to win a fabulous....LAZY DAYS HAMMOCK
*Whilst stocks last
Microsoft no longer supports Windows 98 from the beginning of July. If you are still using Windows 98 we at TechDivision advise you to upgrade as soon as possible. The cost of upgrading is largely dependent on the amount of data you store on your PC. The more data you store the more complicated the transfer process. It also works out cheaper if you have kept hold of your old software installation CD's. We do not advise you upgrade a PC over 5 years old, in fact we generally recommend you replace your computer every 5 years - remember computers are not like TVs. For a quotation on upgrading your PC please give us a call. To give you some guidance we can replace the hard drive for around £300 and the upgrade time would be approximately 3-6 hours at £60* per hour plus VAT.
*Hourly rate is based on carrying out the work at our offices, does not include home visits.
Read more on this story: Microsoft Announcement
Have you been contacted by Microsoft accusing you of piracy? Don't panic, assuming you have indeed got a genuine version of the operating system Windows XP there is no need to be alarmed. The BBC are polling views on this and as yet Microsoft have not provided any guidelines. The piracy alert should not effect your day to day usage. The main noticeable change is you will not be able to download critical updates any more. If you are concerned or need further explanation on how to deal with this please do contact us.
Read more on this story: The BBC
Congratulations to Roxanne Barker of Zone8 Recruitment for winning our May competition for a creative webcam. Thanks to all those that participated. We gathered some really useful tips and tricks from you all, here were the top three:
Shut down your PC using keyboard shortcuts: Simply Ctrl-Esc, then U, then U again! Replace the final U with H for Hibernate; S for Standby; or R for Restart (particularly useful when standing up - when it's awkward to bend down, find the mouse, find the cursor, click on start.
To create a subscript in MS Word, use Ctrl + =, to create superscript Ctrl + Shift +=
Beware of buying software whose author expects you to buy it again (they call it an upgrade and give you no choice!) in two years time.
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