Fixed and mobile broadband as well as telephony is much cheaper in the UK when compared with costs in the US and across Europe. These statistics were revealed by a study that was conducted by communications watchdog Ofcom. In fact, Ofcom has stated that the current costs borne by UK residents for these critical communications services are still lower than what they were paying a year ago.
The study compared costs for fixed and mobile broadband and phone in the UK with matching services in France, Italy, Spain and Germany and also the US. The cross section studied was categorised into five household types for the purpose of research. The facts uncovered by the study showed that prices have dramatically reduced since 2008. Three of five situations in the UK were found cheaper than those in the other countries.
With a typical family setting where there is use for fixed line phone, pay TV, broadband and mobile phones, those in the UK would be paying up to 28percent less than counterparts in Italy, which is the next cheapest. Prices fell by 8percent in 2008 to 2009 in the UK where data pertaining to the lower end mobile phones were collated. Lower end broadband prices fell by 14percent in the same period here.
The market in the UK for fixed and mobile connections is highly competitive with many players vying with each other for customers. Mobile broadband can be activated for a monthly cost of £4.98 for Orange customers. Others need to pay slightly higher amounts at £7.50. For a mobile broadband laptop customers need to pay about £25 per month, clearly much more economical than offers in US and Europe.
According to a study commissioned by PEER 1 Network Enterprises, 88 percent of IT decision makers are not using cloud hosting services technologies with 39 percent of the respondents stating that the insufficient information about it is making them hesitant to embrace the cloud. The global online business hosting company commissioned a study to determine the popularity of cloud computing among IT managers. The study canvassed the opinions of more than 200 IT decision makers. It revealed that security concerns are keeping 24 percent of the respondents from using cloud technologies while 21 percent say that the lack of control tends to outweigh the benefits of the said technology. In spite of the concerns, however, 49 percent are still looking into adopting the cloud. 69 percent of the respondents say that the reliability of cloud computing is one of its strongest benefits to companies. Performance and scalability were also considered reasons for considering on making the move to the cloud environment. PEER 1 UK Managing Director Dominic Monkhouse said that the company commissioned the research in order to better understand how IT decision makers perceive cloud hosting. The results of the study suggest that there is still a lot of confusion with regards to the limits and the benefits of the technology. He noted that many of the respondents question the security of the cloud with 23 percent of them considering its safety as a hindrance and 43 percent see it as an advantage. Suffice to say, the research suggests that much still has to be done with regards to educating IT managers on cloud hosting. They have to be provided with more accurate information on the benefits of the cloud so they can make informed decisions according to their company’s needs.
Internet service provider BE Broadband has decided to collaborate with Geeks-on-Wheels, the IT support company so as to provide back-up and support for customers in case of an emergency.
Geeks-on-Wheels’ expertise is in providing solutions to frequent problems related to computers. Their functions include anything and everything from clearing viruses of system to software as well as hardware configuration and several other areas like data recovery in case of hard disk crashes etc.
BE is offering a 15% reduction in the prices charged for the home service provided by Geeks-on-Wheels. The rates vary according to the location, for instance, Sussex, Surrey and Kent rates are at £55.25 for one hour, and the customers are charged £25.50 for every half an hour after the first hour. However, the charges are higher for London customers, who have to pay £63.75 for the first hour and £31.88 for every subsequent half an hour.
Jamie Shaw, Managing Director of Geeks-on-Wheels talked about the collaboration and said that the deal is beneficial for Geeks-on-Wheels as well. BE is a well known name in the broadband market and is provider of one of the best broadband services in Britain. The collaboration between Geeks-on-Wheels and BE is expected to rule the market in the coming future.
BE has also proposed to offer free broadband for two months as well as zero connection fee on all contracts for a year to the new customers of Geeks-on-Wheels. The new customers can make use of this offer, until the end of next Month, by putting in the code ‘GEEKS’ on the sign up page for BE.
BT has expressed disappointment regarding the small increase in prices that Ofcom sets for its wholesale arm Openreach. BT can now charge £86.40 for each unbundled line, which is much lower than what it had been expecting. Moreover, if any of the other broadband providers share a line with BT, then all that the company can charge is £15.60, which is the same price as last year.
According to a news item on The Register, BT had expected Ofcom to hike the prices to somewhere between £85 and £91 as per an understanding between the two. It seems that Ofcom opted to stay at the lower end of that range, which is what BT is complaining about.
BT had hoped for a higher increase in price and it believes that such a minor hike will only lead to continuing losses at Openreach. While Ofcom claims that Openreach will still be able to make profits, BT disagrees.
Ofcom says that a lower hike will keep the market competitive and draw in more broadband customers. However, BT says that Ofcom’s halfhearted efforts at balancing the market are clearly insufficient. The current step will not even allow Openreach to recover its costs. The latest prices will stay in effect for one whole year and can now be revised only after May 2010.
There has been a big infactuation for laptops of late. It seems like the demand is overwhelming the supply as manufacturers are struggling to meet deadlines for shipments. I think the unfortunate thing for manufacturers is that it doesn’t look like anything will diminish this demand for laptops. The technology is progressing in all directions simultaneously too.
I’ve seen a lot of gaming laptops being introduced as of late. Because of the rising production and fast shifts it means important components are cheaper in price than a couple of years ago. I think laptops are a excellent alternative for playing games. Maybe not exactly for the extreme but they’re excellent for the large number of us. These days the large number of gaming laptops aint even large, bulky and noisy. Despite the fact gaming laptops have improved in numerous areas, in terms of absolute power they still cannot compete with desktops. I think gaming laptops are always exciting to read about because they are always testing the envelope on portable technology.
Speaking of gaming laptops, the greater options are obtainable when they are custom built. I think the components are more credible and run more reliably. It just allows the buyer substantial choice when it comes down to it. Most of the notebooks found in highstreet shops are aimed to get the maximum market share and not the smaller niche sectors. A custom made notebooks this issue. Resellers who provide custom laptops typically provide a more personal and local service too. To me this is a great positive.
Breathtaking is a word that comes to mind when thinking of the next rang of laptop computers. The current trend along with those discussed looks to be low cost umpc’s. Its ridiculous how devices developed for the 3rd world countries have become hyped in the developed countries. I personally feel that we’re likely to see ultra light 15″ laptops very quickly too. Durable enclosures required for such laptops are still too expensive. Gaming laptops will get smaller, that’s for sure. Even though notebooks technology follows plans theres always going to be a idea that transforms all that.
Electronic discovery is the retrieval of data in the electronic format. These days, information is being increasingly created, stored and transferred in the electronic form. Computers, hard disks, CDs, DVDs, floppy disks and tapes are some of the most commonly used storage devices. Data can be transferred from one location to another via electronic, voice or video mails through the Internet. All this has made the data more vulnerable.
Electronic data can be protected to a certain extent, but is also susceptible to being altered or erased by anyone. This erased or altered data is not completely gone from the system, but can be retrieved using special software tools. The process of recovering useful information from vast amounts of data is known as data discovery. Data discovery has become an important tool in lawsuits today.
There are certain guidelines relating to electronic data discovery. Some of them are:
1) counsel should become knowledgeable about their clients’ information management systems and their operation, including how information is stored and retrieved. In addition, counsel should make a reasonable attempt to review their clients’ electronic information files to ascertain their contents, including archival, backup, and legacy data (outdated formats or media);
2) To determine what information must be disclosed pursuant to this rule, counsel shall review with their clients the clients’ electronic information files, including current files as well as back-up, archival, and legacy computer files, to determine what information may be used to support claims or defenses (unless used solely for impeachment). If disclosures of electronic information are being made, counsel shall also identify those individuals with knowledge of their clients’ electronic information systems who can facilitate the location and identification of discoverable electronic information;
3) A party seeking discovery of computer-based information shall notify the opposing party of that fact immediately, and shall identify as clearly as possible the categories of information that may be sought;
4) the parties shall confer regarding the following matters: computer-based information in general, e-mail information, deleted information, back-up and archival data, format and media, costs and privileged material. Guidelines may differ from country to country and from state to state.
Electronic Discovery provides detailed information on Electronic Discovery, Electronic Evidence Discovery, Electronic Data Discovery, Electronic Discovery Software and more. Electronic Discovery is affiliated with Electronic Component Distributors.
Before you upgrade your PC hardware it’s best to search all options and ask for advice. Only after this you can go and buy a new component. It’s also useful to check if you really need an upgrade.
Do not upgrade your very old PC because it would cost a lot of money. It’s cheaper to buy a new computer in such cases because they are easier to upgrade later.
Upgrading the hard drive:
The majority of people do not really need to upgrade their hard disk, unless they use it for playing a lot of music, movies, and games. A 20 GB hard drive is sufficient to keep new office and internet applications, and all your files and data.
A medium sized hard drive would be around 40 GB and the maximum would be around 60 - 80 GB.
Before upgrading your hard disk it’s best to do a complete disk checkup including disk scan, defragmentation, etc. If you happen to be an average user and need more storage you can add an additional drive to the existing one. Before an upgrade, be sure to back up your files.
Upgrading the RAM:
RAM or Random Access Memory is the short-term memory of the PC. It keeps data that is being worked on now and may or may not be transferred to the hard drive that represents the long-term memory of the computer.
Current processors can perform an enormous number of operations per second. The hard drive, on the other hand, is significantly slower to handle so much information. This is where a high-speed RAM memory comes in. RAM needs a power supply to keep data. Once the power is turned off the data is lost.
Almost all PCs have 64 MB RAM and often 128 MB. If you want to run newer applications on your PC then you must upgrade to 128/256 MB RAM.
A lot of people who upgrade from 98 to Win 2000 discover that their computers lock up very often. This is because they don’t have enough RAM.
CPU upgrade:
If you choose this upgrade, you will have faster execution of instructions but it leaves the RAM and hard drive capacity unchanged.
This sis the most cost effective upgrade and can increase the efficiency of your computer considerably. Seek a professional help before you take a decision.
Motherboard:
Upgrading motherboard is not such a good proposition unless you replace the CPU and the RAM as well to achieve greater performance levels. You upgrade the motherboard either because the current one doesn’t support a faster CPU or the CPU requires a different socket. It could be very expensive. Think about buying a new PC.
Ports:
Ports are sockets at the back of your computer where you plug in external devices. Older PCs work on “parallel” ports. If you need to work a lot on peripherals such as digital cameras, digital camcorders, CD burners, and scanners then you need to upgrade to USB and Firewire ports if you are not using them already.
Both tend to be cheaper than the “parallel” and SCSI devices they replace. Always make sure that there are no compatibility problems with other devices in your PC when you plan to upgrade any hardware on your machine.
About the Author: If you are planning to buy laptop computer visit Laptop Computer Center for the latest news and information. http://www.laptopcomputerscenter.info/
Chances are that you were bending metal as a child. You
might have been making pipe-cleaner people. Or you might have
found paper clips fascinating. One thing is for certain, the
metal you were bending as a child was not steel beams or tubes,
and it never had to be strong enough to hold up a stadium roof
or a roller coaster.
As adults, we rely on curved metal beams, pipe, tubes, and
angles in everything from a simple park bench to spiral
staircases to some parts of modern skyscrapers. Visit any
airport or museum built in the past couple decades and count the
number of curved metal structures you find.
Have you ever wondered how they do it? I mean, how can you bend
a steel beam and still keep the strength to support an airport
roof? Well, there are four ways.
Rolling metal
Rolling is the best known way to bend metal, perhaps because it
is the least costly. Rolling uses an appropriate size die that
adjusts to the steel tube, angle, pipe, channel, bar or steel
beam and revolves at the same peripheral speed, turning in
opposite directions. As the metal passes through the roll, the
machine applies pressure to bend the tubing or the beam to the
desired radius.
Rolling is effective when the material - metal, plastic, glass,
whatever - must be bent a great deal. For instance, it can
produce bends up to 360 degrees. This method is ideal for
producing steel coils, spiral staircases and the like.
There are different kinds of rolling processes. Hot rolling
(above the recrystallization temperature) mostly produces sheet
metal. Most non-ferrous metal structures are rolled cold, but
steel is usually rolled hot.
Because rolling requires less set-up work and uses pre-made
dies, the cost is less than other ways to bend and form steel,
so companies often choose this when it suits their
specifications.
Bending metal with a mandrel
Mandrel bending is also fairly well known. In this process, a
metal shaft, or mandrel, is fitted inside the steel tube or
pipe. As the mandrel moves, it bends the metal around the
appropriate sized die to form the radius.
Mandrel works best when the steel tube or pipe has a heavy wall
and/or requires a tight radius because it prevents the material
from rippling. Mandrel can only bend steel tubing up to 180
degrees, but it produces a bend that is uniform all the way up
and down the pipe or tube. Obviously, this process is of little
use for bending metal beams or sheets, however, it is used in
bending exhaust pipes, molten glass and in very tiny cases,
jewelry.
The press method for heavier pipe and beam
The Press method is the third way to bend metal. The steel tube,
pipe, channel, bar or steel beam is fed through the press, which
applies pressure every 6 or 7 inches until the material is bent
to specifications Press is used to bend bigger, heavier beams,
pipes, channels, bars or tubes (24 inches or thicker) that do
not require a very tight radius.
This is a less common process than rolling or mandrel. However,
it is capable of producing large, load-bearing steel support
beams used for schools, roofing, skyscrapers, gymnasiums, malls
and bridges.
Table forming to bend metal tubing, pipes and beams
Table forming is the fourth process. The steel tube, pipe, or
beam is laid out straight and the ends are pulled around the
appropriate sized die to form the radius.
Table forming is used primarily to bend smaller, heavier steel
tubes, pipes, channels, bars or steel beams that require a tight
radius.
But if all that metal bending is too much for you, pick up those
pipe cleaners and wow your kids with the colorful pipe-cleaner
clowns you can form by bending metal at home.
There are two main ways, utilizing technology, that a small
business can project a big-business image. A dynamic and
professional website, and a dynamic cutting-edge phone system.
These two can compliment each other and are often used in
conjunction as marketing, customer service and revenue
generation tools.
As a marketing tool it’s obvious what a website can accomplish.
It states for all to see what the business does and other
promotional items. A phone system can be the second part of that
marketing campaign. A customer who calls the business, as a
follow up from the website, is already under a good impression.
This positive feeling can be built upon with an advanced PBX
(phone system). A multi-level menu system, with a
professional-sounding voice, can greet the potential customer.
The menu can be divided by departments. For a small business
this can be valuable by giving the impression that there really
are departments! The Sales, Technical Support and Customer
Service departments can all be going to the same person. When a
person is waiting on hold, or is being routed through the
system, they can hear music or a recording about the business
and what they do.
As a customer service tool a website can inform a customer on
the different policies of the company. It can have technical
support questions and answers. Contact can be initiated through
the website via email, contact forms, instant messaging or
web-VoIP (Voice over IP) calling. An advanced phone system can
be setup to route calls based on priority or caller-id to the
appropriate individuals. For example, if a small company of
eight people lands a large account they will try extra hard to
please this client. The phone system can be setup so that when
the large client’s caller-id, or a group of caller-ids if the
company has multiple numbers, comes up it will be routed to the
owner/manager. After business hours it can be routed to a
special number. Losing a client has never been harder.
As a revenue generation tool a website can have a store. It can
do lead generation by offering information or demos of your
product which would require the customer to fill out a form. A
sales associate would be able to follow up on these leads to
convert them to sales. A phone system can be setup to make
appointments for a service business. It can also be used to call
past customers as a reminder for further service. The system can
route calls to a salesman on the road to close a sale. No one
even needs to be in the office, as the system will route the
calls appropriately.
This is a small sample of how a website and an advanced phone
system can make Sam’s Discount Drug Store look like Walgreens.
Cy Yablonsky is a realtor associate at Othello Realty, www.OthelloRealty.com.
Cy has an extensive background in technology and communications
and applies that to the real estate market. Feel free to reprint
this article as long as all links stay live and no changes are
made.
If you need a laptop computer which one should you choose? There is a large range of standard laptops that are extremely low priced and then you have those gaming laptops which are usually built to spec. Though I think it depends on your needs you should always purchase the latest specification you can buy at the time. You never know when you may crave to play the latest game, only to find out your cheap laptop can’t handle it. Laptops for gaming are just high spec notebook computers which can easily run todays software and games which seems a smart investment if this is a long term purchase.
Intel has been controlling the notebook computer industry as long as I can remember. The centrino certification has always meant the customer gets a certain level of mobile experience however there has been a lot of confusion regarding what centrino notebooks are. Common misconceptions include thinking that just because the laptop has an intel processor that makes it a centrino laptop. A Few consumers still don’t understand that centrino is a marketing platform that implies the laptop has an intel mainboard, intel processor and intel wireless card.
When purchasing a gaming laptop the processor, memory and graphics chip are the most important parts you should consider. You need a processor with a minimum speed of 2GHz and it must have 2 processing cores. 2GB is the min amount of ram necessary for playing games. To play games you need to have a dedicated graphics card. Usually you get 256MB dedicated graphics memory. I think an Nvidia 8600M card should be good for playing all the latest games well. Nothing but the most powerful cards will do for extreme gamers.
Nvidia are about to release the Geforce 9 Series and Ati are also releasing new chips to compete so things can only look up for game players. Current memory prices also look like they will drop with the entrance of DDR3 memory.
