Recycle your Ink Cartridges with Wytech!

Hello and welcome back to the Wytech blog. This month we have been focusing on ways to improve recycling, with a renewed focus on our partnership with UK printer manufacturer, Brother.

Why did we choose Brother?

Because Brother have invested a huge amount of time and money into 'green' manufacturing processes. They have even built a dedicated recycling plant in Ruabon, North Wales to recycle 100% of every used printer cartridge with zero landfill. As a result of this and of other environmentally focused efforts, the company have received their third 100/100 score from the Ethical Company Organisation. They are the only printer manufacturer to have achieved this!

Wytech place a big emphasis on a good environmental policy and as a result we are happy to partner with a company that takes its corporate social responsibility so seriously. This partnership also results in some benefits for our clients.

Using the Brother 'ReNew' programme, we are able to offer our clients a FREE cartridge recycling service. If you send your old cartridges to us (or if we come and collect them) we will process them in partnership with Brother at no cost to you. This is a unique opportunity to improve your organisation's green credentials and reduce your carbon footprint.

This service also provides another incentive to use original Brother cartridges rather than imitation compatibles. In our experience, compatibles reduce a printers life cycle, don’t have the same capacity as branded items, and invalidate your warranty. Although compatibles are perceived to be a lot cheaper in the short term, taking these 3 points into consideration they don't save you money in the long term.

If you would like to no more about this scheme then feel free to contact us Mon-Fri between 0800-1800 on 0800 011 2636 for an informal chat.

Written by R. G. L. Birkbeck

Cisco Partners & Year of the Slate

Despite the snow and ice Wytech have been plowing on with all things IT related, and we are very pleased to announce our recent upgrades to Cisco Select Certified Partner and SMB (Small & Medium Sized Business) Specialised Partner.

This new status strengthens our partnership with Cisco, the world leader in networking solutions, and at a time when the company are releasing a new range of VoIP and network solutions aimed at the 0-75 employee market. As you should know by now, Wytech specialise in Small Business solutions and we have immediately begun testing the new Cisco kit.

I'll post the results of our experiments soon, in the meantime this week I'd like to take a look at the new wave of tablet PCs as mentioned in my last post.

Over the past few years touchscreen technology has made a big impact on next-generation smartphones and laptops.In particular it has allowed the iphone and other such 'smartphones' to usher in a new generation of intuitive interfaces designed for the modern electronic consumer. PCs have changed too, with less media hype perhaps. But now the two technologies are being combined in the form of a next-gen PC/smartphone hybrid.

At this year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) the technology was pigeon holed into a new category of device called 'slates'. The devices, also known as tablets, have an interface similar to a smartphone and, with no keyboards, are lighter than netbooks.

PC manufacturer Dell announced its first device will launch this summer. The Mini 5 will feature Google's Android operating system, SIM card, wi-fi, and offer multiple windows for social networking. Users can also make phonecalls, but the device is not designed to replace a handset or even a netbook. Large touchscreens are also power-hungry so battery life could also be a limiting factor.

Hewlett Packard's chief technology officer, Phil McKinney believes slates will appeal to consumers as their web habits begin to change. The firm showed off its Windows 7 powered machine during a Microsoft event at CES.

"People are enjoying more and more content from the web. And the real challenge is there aren't any good consumption-designed devices," he said. "All devices today have keyboards which are really designed for input but there's a large population that really just want to consume whether it be video, text or audio."

With the advent of the Amazon Kindle and the Sony E-Book Reader, media is increasingly becoming delivered and demanded in a digital format, and the result is that consumers are moving towards a wider dependency on screen-based content. If 2009 was the year of the netbook, then 2010 will perhaps be the year of the 'slate'...

Written by R. G. L. Birkbeck

Introducing Microsoft Office 2010

Happy New Year! And welcome back to the Wytech Blog.

With the new year comes new products from all the major software and hardware developers worldwide. ICT research & development never sleeps and this year looks like a particular treat for technology and innovation lovers.

Already HP and Microsoft have demonstrated their new 'slate PC', in advance of Apple's new 'tablet PC'. These ultra-slim portable devices incorporate laptop functionality with a large screen and touchscreen technology to bridge the gap between laptops and mobile phones.

But more on those another time, today I want to discuss the long awaited Microsoft Office 2010, which is still in beta development stage. See what you make of the Microsoft produced marketing below! Brave new world or same old problems? We hope to run a trial version soon and see for ourselves.


The Top Ten Benefits of Office 2010 Beta

1 Express your ideas more visually
New and improved picture formatting tools such as colour saturation and artistic effects let you transformand develop your document visuals with improved control and many more possibilities. Pre-built Office themes and SmartArt® graphic layouts provide even more options to the user.

2 Accomplish more when working together
Brainstorming, document collaboration and deadline organisation are made easy when you start using co-authoring for Microsoft Word 2010, PowerPoint 2010, Excel Web App and OneNote shared notebooks. Co-authoring lets you work on a file with several people at once, from different locations!

3 Enjoy the familiar Office experience from more locations and more devices
With Office 2010, you can get things done more easily, from more locations and more devices. Using a smartphone or virtually any computer with an Internet connection, you can work when and where you want to work.

4 Create powerful data insights and visuals
You can track and highlight important trends with new data analysis and visualisation features in Excel 2010. The new Sparklines feature delivers a clear and compact visual representation of your data with small charts within worksheet cells. Filter and segment your PivotTable data in multiple layers using Slicers to spend more time analysing and less time formatting.

5 Deliver compelling presentations
Captivate your audience with personalised videos in your presentation. Insert and customise videos directly in PowerPoint 2010—trim, add fades and effects, or bookmark key points in the video to call attention to selected scenes. Videos you insert are now embedded by default, relieving you from managing and sending additional video files.

6 Manage large volumes of e-mail with ease
Compress your long e-mail threads into a few conversations that can be categorised, filed, ignored, or cleaned up. The new Quick Steps feature let you perform multi-command tasks, such as reply and delete an e-mail in a single click, saving you time and inbox space.

7 Store and track all your ideas and notes in one place
Get the ultimate digital notebook for tracking, organising, and sharing your text, picture, video and audio notes with OneNote 2010. New features such as version tracking, automatic highlighting, and Linked Notes give you more control over your notes so you’re always on top of where your ideas came from and the latest changes when working in teams.

8 Get your message out instantly
Broadcast your PowerPoint presentation to a remote audience, whether or not they have PowerPoint installed. The new Broadcast Slide Show feature allows you to share your presentation through a web browser quickly without additional set up.

9 Get things done faster and easier
Microsoft Office Backstage™ view replaces the traditional File menu to give you a centralised space for all of your file management tasks, such as the ability to save, share, print, and publish. The enhanced Ribbon across Office 2010 applications lets you access commands quickly and customize tabs to personalize the experience to your work style.

10 Access work across devices and platforms
Enjoy the freedom of using Office 2010 from more locations on more devices. When you use Microsoft® Office 2010, you’re getting the familiar and intuitive Office experience across PCs, Smartphones, and Web browsers on the go.

Written by R. G. L. Birkbeck

Reanne Evans Historic Victory!

Reanne Evans, the current World Ladies Champion and the Wytech World Ladies Masters Champion 2009, has completed an historic victory.

In a memorable confrontation at the Six Reds World Championship in Killarney, Evans and the current World Mens Champion, John Higgins, put their cues together and battled over the snooker table in a clash of sporting titans.

In an unprecedented result, Evans defeated Higgins and has thus upset the status quo of men's professional snooker across the world.

Read more on this link.

Introducing Hannah Jones

At the age of 13, Hannah Jones has already ticked off a long list of sporting achievements. Snooker is her game and in the fast growing world of international ladies cuesports Hannah is certainly making her mark.

Having already represented England in 2007, Hannah is also the current World Ladies Junior Champion with a string of competition wins to her name.

In the past year alone, Hannah became the youngest female to win a senior ladies ranking event winning the WLBSA World Ladies Junior Championship, the Doubles Championship of the same tournament, the East Anglian Ladies Plate, the South Coast Classic Plate, the British Open Junior Ladies Championship, the East Anglian Junior Ladies Championship and the UK Junior Ladies Championship.

She has also been named as the Amber Valley Junior Sportswoman of the year and the DSSA Derbyshire Sports Person of the year.

As you can see, it has been quite a busy time for Hannah, however she still keeps up with her schoolwork from Ecclesbourne High School and typical teenage social life in her home of Quarndon just outside of Derby.

There is of course another driving force behind Hannah's success, and that is the support of her sponsors, Mark and Paul, the Directors of Wytech Ltd.

As well as providing sponsorship and support for Hannah's sporting career, Mark and Paul also fund and organise the annual Wytech World Ladies Masters Snooker Event in Derbyshire. This competition brings the best ladies snooker talent from around the world under one roof for a battle to win this coveted title cup. With the third Wytech Masters this September edging to a thrilling confrontation between world ladies Champion Reanne Evans and Maria Catalano, the event is quickly making a name for itself in the professional snooker fan's calendar.

Wytech are proud to support Hannah, a young achiever and a sportswoman of internationally recognised talent. Alongside sponsoring Hannah and the annual Masters event, we also sponsor other young snooker players in the Derbyshire area to help them cover the costs of coaching, equipment and travel to pursue their sport.

If you would like to find out more about Hannah Jones and her snooker career, please follow this link to her dedicated website which is kept up to date with all of her latest news: http://www.hannahjones.wytechhosting.co.uk

Written by R. G. L. Birkbeck

Google Chrome OS

Google have recently unveiled their latest piece of software, 'Chrome OS', and it's tipped to be as revolutionary as sliced bread. Chrome OS is an operating system like no other, and in a clever appreciation of the current hardware market, it is designed to be run on netbooks.

It is still in the testing stages and is due to be officially released next year, however there are a few features worth noting already. The OS is based on Linux, and is leaner than Windows, which means faster boot times and a smoother, more stable experience for the end user. User data will be stored on Google's servers, (rather than your local machine) and as a consequence it will be possible to synchronise this data with other Chrome OS devices.

However, if you want to use popular applications like Word and Adobe Reader, Chrome isn't for you. Only Google approved web applications such as Gmail and Google Docs will work with the new OS. In fact the only application you will have on installation is a web browser from which your files, emails, media etc. will all be controlled.

Google have defended this Orwellian level of control by claiming that because Chrome OS doesn't allow the user to install desktop applications, the user is less at risk from malicious software. This could make it safer for online transactions and other data sensitive activities on the web, but no system is currently 100% secure, and Google do admit this.

Possible problems are: suspension or interruption of the service, interception and spoofing or privacy issues and of course the fact that all of the apps are web based, so a good internet connection is vital. With the advent of Chrome OS, Google will also have unparalleled access to your personal computing habits, browsing patterns and behaviour.

We are currently testing the open source early version of Chrome OS, called 'Chromium OS' on a Samsung NC10 netbook and it certainly does represent a massive shift from the norm in OS interfaces and user interaction.

With the recent releases of Windows 7 from Microsoft and Snow Leopard from Apple, the OS market is beginning to look very interesting indeed.

Written by R. G. L. Birkbeck

8 Reasons Why Your Business Needs a Server

A server computer, sometimes called an enterprise server, is a computer system that provides essential services across a network, to private users inside a large organisation or to public users on the internet. Many servers have dedicated functionality such as web servers, email servers, and database servers.

Today, server-based networks can be found in more than 20% of small businesses with more than one PC. Servers and networks have even moved into businesses with fewer than five PCs, as users see the efficiencies and better productivity of a Server. Here are our 8 top reasons to invest in a server:

1. You can create order from chaos. By centralising data on a server, you can better manage business-critical information. Sharing files and other data across PCs becomes much easier, as does migrating data from one PC to another. Older PCs can get new life if their files and data are off-loaded onto a server.

2. You can protect your data by making backups easier. Windows Small Business Server 2003 & 2008 both enable users to protect their data by simplifying backups and the restoration of critical data.

3. You can collaborate better as a business. Not only is data sharing easier with a server-based network, but Windows Small Business Server 2003 & 2008 both come with Windows SharePoint Services, which is software that enables your employees and other team members to collaborate via the Web. With SharePoint, you get a company intranet with a user-friendly interface to organize and share information.

4. You can accommodate a mobile work force. Servers enable out-of-office workers to have remote access to your network, enabling data sharing among those who travel, telecommute or work off-site.

5. You can share high-speed broadband access. High-speed Internet access across a network from a single ISP account.

6. You can set up new computers, add users and deploy new applications more quickly and easily. Expect to grow? You can better co-ordinate the addition of new PCs and software. You can also better manage firewalls and monitor threats to your data, and more easily deploy virus protection.

7. You can get more processing power. A server can supercharge your network, storing chunks of data, freeing up memory and enabling PCs to perform better. Small businesses today need that additional processing power to manage Web sites, create e-mail newsletters, and use sophisticated software.

8. You can look more professional & connect better with your customers. Microsoft Small Business Server 2003 & 2008 both enable you to consolidate your e-mail accounts (AOL, Yahoo!, Hotmail, etc.) into a single e-mail account, enhancing your image to customers. A server can make a lot of businesses look bigger than they are.

If you would like to know more about buying, installing and maintaining a server for your business, please get in touch with us on 0800 011 2636 and we'll help you make the right choices for the future.

Written by R. G. L. Birkbeck