These are the Droids you’re looking for
With the recent wave of Android powered tablets could the iPads dominance be coming to an end?
There are now at least ten great iPad alternatives out there and they are all running on the latest Android 3 OS (Honeycomb). I have been using one of these devices for two weeks now and I have to say it is fantastic. It may not have the elitist draw that the iPad has but that just makes me love it more.
The unit I have been using is the Asus Transformer. The amazing thing about this tablet is the optional keyboard/docking station, using this turns your tablet in to a notebook. This allows you to easily type documents and spreadsheets without half the display being taken up by the onscreen keyboard. The dock also has it’s own battery which increases the life of the tablet to sixteen hours. It also includes two USB 2 ports, an extra SD card reader and a trackpad to navigate rather than using the touchscreen.
The multimedia power of this device is outstanding. It has the capability to playback 1080p HD video thanks to the Nvidia Tegra 2 chipset and the images are crisp and clear on its 10.1″ screen. There is also a mini HDMI port allowing you to connect the device to a HDTV for fullscreen playback of movies.
The only downside of the Asus (and the iPad) are the cameras. Instead of using two cameras, they would be better off fitting a higher quality forward facing camera for better video chat using app’s like Skype or Facetime on the iPad.
All in all this is a great device, so much so that I have now sold my iPad and have replaced it with the Asus Transformer.
Find out more on the Asus website
Have you turned it off and on again?
It’s one of the first questions anyone in support will ask you when you call, ”have you turned it off and on again?” You will be amazed how many problems a simple reboot will solve. You should do this at least once before calling for tech support, if for no other reason than to be able to say “yes I have already tried that”.
What we call a cold reboot works best, this means shutting down and turning off your PC or Laptop for 30 seconds before turning it back on again.
If you leave your computer on 24/7, you should restart it every couple of days (with the exception of a server). A freshly booted system always works best. If after doing this you still have problems with your PC or Laptop then you should give your IT Support a call.
New remote support
Starting Monday 24/01/2011, Caledonian IT will be offering an online support service that will allow remote access to your desktop PC to resolve software issues. By simply downloading the small secure client software and granting access, they will be able to connect to your PC and rectify any issues encountered. Not only is there no requirement for you to wait for an engineer, this will also reduce response times.
Customers who benefit from the monthly payment plan will automatically receive this service free of charge, and a reduced rate of £30 will be applied to pay as you go customers. This is compared to the standard hourly rate of £40.
There will obviously be instances where this service is not sufficient. If your fault is hardware related; access cannot be gained to the internet or the fault is with multiple PC’s, a normal site visit will still be required.
Broadband Speeds
Are you getting the Broadband speed you are paying for?
The UK average speed is around 4Mb even though it is sold as up to 8Mb.
Suppliers are now offering up to 20Mb Broadband, if you are offered faster Broadband ask the supplier to tell you what average speeds you can expect to receive.
If you wish to test the average speed with your existing provider, go to the link below and choose a server that is closest to you.
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