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Microsoft’s Genius Battle Strategy for Bing

Written by admin on May 15th, 2012

Going up against industry leader Google in the internet search industry is usually considered as suicide. Nearly everyone already knows the brand, and making any headway into the market is a very difficult thing. That is why most were surprised when Microsoft decided to enhance their search functions and came up with Bing.

For the first few years, Microsoft’s Bing was relegated to second place (or even third place when you count in Yahoo!). However, enhancements in the search indexing capabilities and even extraneous features (have you tried Bing Maps?) have helped increase awareness to the service they provide.

Now they have come up with a new search capability that is surely going to bring new eyes to their search engine: the capability to display results coming from user comments, likes, and other activities from Facebook and Twitter.

Utilizing your opponent’s strength against them:

Analysts are saying that Microsoft’s Bing strategy utilized Google’s supposed strength. Google who has the capability to launch their own social network in Google Plus would definitely try to market that product instead of their competitors. Microsoft, who doesn’t champion a social media space, capitalized on this by partnering with the best social media sites and displaying their results instead.

This can be a game changer as social media has really jumped up in usage. People are utilizing them as their news sources, friend activity aggregators, and whatever else. As such, users who would want to do a search that is more closely integrated with their sets of friends choices may opt to use BING instead of Google.

How will Google react?

The social idea in itself is not that new. Google’s +1, as well as integration of Google products in results are examples of ways that Google tried to influence the search results based on a friends list. However, the big difference is that Google plus is not as widely used and accepted as twitter and facebook. The number of active users between those groups tilts heavily towards the facebook and twitter ones.

It would be exciting to see how google would react to this. Will we see them start opening up and including more popular social networking sites into their own fold or would they still try to push for their own Google brand.

We will have to wait and see until Bing does their full roll out of this feature and move from private testing to public beta.

 

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IT Support on Using HTML5

Written by admin on May 14th, 2012

HTML 5 LogoWeb specialists are ever improving the way the Internet is run by revising again and again the web-based languages used in setting up a particular page. One of the traditional markup languages is HTML, and because of its text-based capabilities, developers have worked it out for years to make it more dynamic and conducive through animations. The latest revision that the developers have undertaken is HTML5.  With the help of Javascript and Cascading Style Sheets scripting tools, HTML5 has become more dynamic and more interactive, with the addition of other three tools for making animations, namely Adobe’s Edge, Sencha Animator and Tumult Hype. Companies that maintain their own website now have a more active way in hosting their sites through the great advantages of these newly upgraded animation tools. HTML5 is a good stock of additional knowledge that could be added to the IT Support.

Because programming is a key knowledge in being able to utilize HTML5 to its utmost output, the technical support team is expected to be people of well-versed programming knowledge. This is because in usual cases, the website programmers and the technical support team are entirely different groups of people. The IT support would not necessarily witness the specific details that programmers have incorporated in the web page, while programmers do not necessarily release a verbatim copy of their program syntax. However, since the IT personnel are the people to be approached to when problems arise, they must then have a full grasp of the program being used in order to accurately spot problems and errors and troubleshoot them right on.

HTML5 also boasts of its compatibility with three stand-alone animation tools, which are actually what made the language more interactive to the end users. When a website is fully operational and interacting, its animation features will give more delightful help for the end-users. But because animation is a specialized study in the computer study, IT Support personnel must need to be equipped with background animation training so that there would also be correct troubleshooting process, which usually happens in the launching phase, as there would be platform-compatibility issues, among others.

But perhaps, the greatest bulk of the IT Support’s work could be found in the launching of the completed website, which is always followed up by its maintenance phase. After all, HTML5 is a website scripting language. End-users are the ones making the most of their time on these furnished websites. So when a particular web page doesn’t work as expected, the technical support team will naturally take the matters at hand, and do the necessary repairs. Their constant availability is likewise crucially necessary.

Using HTML5 is one of the joys that programmers, particularly website programmers, are cherishing, when it comes to latest innovations in the technology. The IT Support group can also share this joy especially as they are the go-betweens for the end-user and the website itself.

 

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Learn more about Cat 5 Cabling

Written by admin on May 10th, 2012

Image Credit from Wikipedia

Not many people are familiar with Cat 5 Cabling. They would simply visit the store and purchase the items without having to worry about the details. To help people familiarize themselves more with this network equipment, here are some random facts that would help tell you more about Cat 5 Cabling.

How long is the Maximum Cat 5 Cabling Length?

Actually, there are really no set maximum Cat 5 Cable lengths. You can try to go for a cable as long as you would like. However, there is a limiting factor in the fact that you can get some form of signal loss or distortion once you go past 100 meters. Thus, you can probably say that the maximum cat 5 cabling length is at 100 meters (or 328 feet).

Why should I go for premium Cat 5 Cabling:

Many think that Cat 5 Cables are all equal anyway. You can just pick any one out in the hardware store and you would be able to be connected. As such, many think that simply getting the cheapest option would be the best choice as you would be able to connect without having to spend that much.

However, the difference is in premium cables, you would know that your raw materials are of quality. Cheaper raw materials would mean that the wire would be more prone to breaking. Of course, this does not mean that more expensive items are better. You should always check the quality of the product no matter the price.

How fast are transfers through Cat 5 Cable?

When using the vanilla variant of Cat 5 Cable, it can support up to 10/100 Ethernet connections. This means that it would be able to support up to 100Mbps transfers. There are more advanced cables that can support Gigabit Ethernet transfers (1000MBps). You should check your routers or switches to see which are supported, though the Cat 6 cables are also backwards compatible.

Where can I use Cat 5 Cabling?

The most common use for Cat 5 cabling is for file transfers between different computer equipment. You would also be able to use it so that you can communicate using a messaging client (MS outlook for example) with each other.

Another use is that you can network the computers for gaming purposes. A LAN network can utilize Cat 5 Cabling as a base for the interconnection of the gaming computers.

 

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Why Should My Business Use Linux?

Written by admin on March 28th, 2012

Image credit from Wikipedia

Although Microsoft is still the leader when it comes to business software, there are now more and more companies who have become amenable to looking at other options. While there are some companies who have tried to adapt the Mac operating system, most who want an alternative to Windows are put off by the Mac’s price and closed system. That’s why firms are flocking towards the Linux environment.

Of course, the Windows system is offering something that many people are already comfortable with. Both the back end (the servers, routers, and exchange systems) and the front end (desktops) users are already well versed with how they would work while using the system. That is why many businesses are asking the logic behind using a Linux environment for their offices.

For those who have this kind of question. Here are some points that you should consider:

Cost efficiency:

First off, the biggest and most common reason for transitioning to a Linux environment is that they are cheaper than Windows. Linux distributions can be downloaded for free from various websites (or even sent to you at a minimum cost). This means that you would not have to pay the high cost of Windows systems for each of your computer. Also, the updates to these Linux systems are also given to users for a low cost (usually free). You would be able to reap the benefits of the updated software without having to shell out any additional funds.

In fact, there are even IT Support firm for Linux systems that offer their services at a much lower price than their Windows counterpart.

Lower Hardware Requirements:

Another advantage of using a Linux system is that they would often have a lower hardware requirement than the alternatives. Even the latest Linux distributions would often have a lower system requirement than the Windows or Mac software from a couple of years ago. This is great if you would want to prolong the use of your existing hardware or would not want to keep on spending for hardware upgrades to match your software.

Secure:

An advantage of the Linux system is that they are alos considered to be more secure than their windows counterpart. This is an offshoot of Linux two things; being not widely used and being open sourced. By being deployed to a significantly lesser user base; the spread of viruses is not that wide. And because of it’s open source architectures, you can customize a Linux distribution to be unique from any other type of system making it difficult to target or attack.

 

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Excellent all-around service

Written by admin on March 27th, 2012

When the servers that power our office communications broke down, I was immediately put on the hot seat. Being the lead of the IT support team for our firm meant that I was responsible in being able to resolve these issues. That’s why it was really fortunate that I had been able to partner with a very reputable Manchester IT Support firm.

The Manchester IT support firm that I had contracted was able to provide me with an excellent all-around service. They came to the office location as soon as I called, diagnosed the issues immediately, and did the repairs as fast as they can. The quick fixes that the Manchester IT support firm had done meant that my office suffered from very little down time.

I think this experience just proves that you should really be discerning when it comes to choosing your Manchester IT support firm. You should try to get one that provides excellent service to their clients.

 

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How Hosted Desktop Respond to Government Functions?

Written by Todd John Moore on January 24th, 2012

Regardless of what form of leadership a country has, it always has a set of systems and laws to follow in order to provide security and orderliness. This is the basic essence of a government and one of the vital reasons why nations continue or cease to exist. Because a government system is essential, the scope of its task is far-reaching. Hence nations divide the labor, by creating special agencies and functionalities to focus on a particular concern, and yet still work in cooperation with each other. The idea of unity in diversity easily comes to mind. And this is the very scenario that hosted desktop solutions can verily answer to.

In its most basic essence, a government has a branch that functions as the leadership body, another brand that implements justice matters, and yet another brand that drafts and postulates laws and regulations for the citizenry to follow. Each of these tasks is independent of each other, and unique as well, and yet, they all need each other in order to promote the common good for the government. In today’s generation of paperless documentations, these special branches of the government find value in being able to work together with the aid computers and the Internet. In fact, most government offices nowadays are implementing local area network for their computers, so that they can easily share files and information to each other, as they deem necessary.

However, with the advent of mobile communications and hand-held devices, there is now an easier and more convenient way for government agencies to share information together.  The hosted desktop solutions are innovative ways to enable users to access their files at any time and wherever they are. A hosted desktop is a collaboration of different devices, much like a computer server, which are hosted by a service provider, so that a person’s particular files can be easily accessed remotely, just as though he was in his own office. This is done through a browser application, which a user can easily click on, and work his way around with.

Hosted desktop solutions are also practical because in the event that government officials are away from their offices, and they needed to access files from their own office computers, they can easily do so when they log on to their hosted desktop. Many hosted desktop service providers allow this dynamic accessibility even through mobile phones, especially those, which have Internet connectivity. And even if government agencies work separately from each other, the hosted desktop is a good avenue for them to easily make available the files, which are considered necessary for the other branches. This makes hosted desktop a real solution for government functions, which are ever on the go.

 

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Point of Sales and Cisco Support

Written by Todd John Moore on January 24th, 2012

The emergence of point of sales system in the retail industry has proved to be revolutionary for the business. It has lessened the manual computation of purchases and payments, as well as automatically generates reports for the centralized database of the store. POS are in fact computerized equipment used by most of the retail businesses today to process payments and purchase transactions. But POS machines built with the foundation of Cisco support is like building power upon power, as Cisco handles the helm of the networking procedures.

Because POS equipment needs a centralized server to process all their information, each device needs to be networked in order to facilitate this centralization phase. However when it comes to networking issues, problems like security issues need to be addressed early on. Networked computers always pose a risk of easy manipulation, since all computers share one root. They collect and remit their information to a common repository, and in this process of delivering the information, security can be breached when the network is hacked. There had already been repeated cases of information theft in the network, whether it’s a local or wide area network. Hence retail business owners see to it that they are implementing reliable security.

The track record of POS system as machines is already proven hence they could never be easily taken out of the market use. Business owners however realize the need to secure the “premises” of the device, so that no unauthorized flow of information would take place. Businesses have also seen the reliability of Cisco support in terms of networking services. Cisco has been long-running in the networking business, having even produced their routers and hardware devices which are tested and proven to handle highly dependable security.

One prominent service accommodated by the POS is the payment through cards. Most of the many cases of identity theft were gotten from POS data which were intercepted by bad people when clients pay either through credit or debit cards. This theft was made possible because the network architecture available for the POS system was insecure, and so it was easier to hack the information, to the misfortune of the customer. But the architecture of Cisco support is built in such a way that no attack could easily penetrate. This is why Cisco is known as a trusted name in the field of networking.

Business owners very well know the demand for security in every product they use, especially in every computer-based tool. Although computerized equipments are great load-reducers, they could also pose more harm to the company when they are unexpectedly attacked. And since networked computers are exposed to this harm, they have to be equipped with the security service that is already reliably known, like what Cisco support can do.

 

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Internet Speed on Online Backup

Written by Todd John Moore on January 24th, 2012

It is now considered as equivalent to stupidity if a computer user doesn’t implement backups to his or her files, assuming each of them is subjectively important. However, there are still end-users who don’t really find value in backing up their files, only to regret later in the event of computer crashes. Because of the varying cases of computer malfunctions, many types of backup schemes have been found, ranging from rewrite-able compact disks to online backups. But big computer-dependent companies have convenient leanings for backups done online, owing to their immediacy and accessibility. Hence, marketers have also taken advantage of this demand and actually produced software to accommodate online backup.

Of course, security is a foremost concern for online backups. Due to the many cases of expert website hackings around the globe today, the Internet world actually poses risks and dangers. But when a duly competent service provider and software manufacturer resolve that concern, there would only be one more concern to face off with, and then online backup problems are dissolved. This concern is the Internet speed.

An online backup will require the end-user to upload the files, which he needed to secure. Hence, the Internet speed is very crucial for this type of action. Many backup providers today require the 192 kbps speed, in order to facilitate accurate file transfer. Slower speed would obviously derail uploading of files, and at times, could even cause the incomplete transfer of files. This case is more harmful and detrimental for the end-user.

The user has to look for a reliable Internet service provider in his area, which can provide the fastest bandwidth possible. Unfortunately, every country offers different Internet speed, and this has caused a lot of problems in making online backups. However, regardless of this fact, there would surely be at least a service provider in basically every location, which is able enough to give the kind of Internet speed suited for the end-user.

Implementing an online backup is highly recommended for companies, which have resources or clients abroad, or for businesses, which have been outsourced services. Their centralized sharing of information would require a particular location where their files are secured and could easily be accessible by the end-users.  Moreover, this kind of market scope obviously has Internet connection readily available, thus making online backups more convenient.  Additionally, since this is a corporate necessity, this would not pose a financial burden to a lone user, but instead an expense under the company’s list.

However, there are individual users who would find great value in online backups. They are those who do freelance services who do need computers and the security of backing up these computer files. But whether it’s a corporate or personal usage, the Internet speed remains to be a prominent requirement for end-users who would want online backup.

 

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Benefits of Hosted Exchange

Written by Todd John Moore on January 4th, 2012

When it comes to information sharing, hosted exchange has made its mark. It is the most viable alternative to the enormous sharing capabilities of Microsoft Exchange, which has given loads of benefits to large companies and their employees. It is a server host which enables members to access their emails, contacts, schedules and other relevant information anytime and anywhere, and even without their computers. Mobile phones have now joined in this strategic move of sharing information, and this has even extended great advantages to the member companies. However, Microsoft Exchange is pretty expensive to maintain, not to mention the necessity of hiring additional staff to maintain the server. Although Exchange has been proven to be hugely beneficial to big companies, the smaller enterprises have faced dilemma of maintenance. It would be difficult for them to maintain the extra server, no matter how strategic, because of budget constraints.

 

Hence, the experts from the Information Technology industry have devised a way to address this concern, and at the same time, still provide the beneficial services of Microsoft Exchange. This is the birth of Hosted Exchange. Smaller companies could avail of same information sharing capabilities of Exchange but at a lesser fee. Hosted exchange is simply another server provider that uses the technology of Microsoft Exchange and re-channels it to smaller businesses.

 

Now that the Hosted Exchange has been made easily accessible for businesses, more and more enterprises have already availed of similar technology. In fact, there are now many providers that offer hosted exchange to employers and their staff at a more affordable fee. One reason that a hosted exchange is more affordable is because there is no more need of hiring an extra staff to handle the server. The providers will be the ones handling the company’s servers, as its members continue to avail of its services in sharing information.

 

Hosted Exchange also guarantees secured information. This is because files to be shared are only within among the members of the company. Unless an employee would make his own betrayal, the shared information within the exchange is reliably secure. It is even spam- and virus-free, because every bit of information that enters to the server is monitored and screened. Thus it prevents re-channeling of the unwelcome virus due to spamming.

 

There is also efficiency of information sharing with Host Exchange. Because there’s already a server host, all data can be easily managed and sorted, and so the intended recipient would always receive his copy. Because Hosted Exchange also makes use of Microsoft Exchange, they also have the capability to see each other’s calendar, and so make a quick reference to their schedule. This is effective for planning and meeting purposes. If you’re the boss, you will surely want to know if all your staff can be available for intended meeting.

 

For the organization that values information and transparency among its members, the Hosted Exchange is just what they need.



 

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What you want in an IT Support contract?

Written by Todd John Moore on January 4th, 2012

Partnering with an IT support team would mean that you would enter into a contract with the provider. Here are some points that you should always consider when you are drafting the IT support contract that you will use as a reference for your agreements.

The coverage of the IT support contract:

As much as possible, you would want the IT support contract to become all encompassing. This means that the IT support team should be obligated to help you out no matter what kind of IT related trouble your company is facing.

Remember that IT equipment, may they be hardware or software, are generally finicky things. Issues that have not been diagnosed before may suddenly pop up. If you do not specify what kind of fixes are covered by the contract, then the IT support team can just wash their hands and say that they would not have to fix the issues anymore.

By having this kind of contract, you would be able to protect your firm from these types of unexpected issues that could cripple your business.

The costs:

Another thing that you should consider would be the cost. The thing with IT support is that it is a scaling situation. There may be some bugs or issues that could be easily fixed by minor tweaks while there may be some problems wherein it would take a long time and additional development for you to be able to resolve it.

Of course, when it comes to issue resolution, there would always be costs and expenses involved. That is why you should already have these kinds of situations covered in the contract so as not to experience any form of bill shock.

The length of the contract:

Lastly, you should not just assume that your IT support contract would last the entirety of the equipment that you have. There are some contracts that are limited wherein they would just let you go even if the equipment or infrastructure that you have is still being used. When this happens, you would be left to your own resources in trying to fix the issues and troubles that that certain item is encountering.

As such, you should ensure that the length of IT support contract is adequate for the lifetime of the software or hardware that you are getting. You may also want to look into contracts that allow your company to extend the coverage of the IT support team.

 

 

 

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