August 2013 Newsletter

I hope you are well and enjoying the summer. Here’s a roundup of the latest IT news for this month.

Cloud Storage

I wrote to you last month telling you about the new service which I am offering, which is Cloud storage. I’ve had a fantastic response and so many people have signed up for this service.

In case you missed it, let me give you the highlights again.

It’s a sad fact of life that your computer’s data, including your valuable documents, pictures, emails, music, contacts etc. are at risk of being lost forever. I have at least one customer per month who has a disaster, either from their computer dying out of the blue, or having it stolen and in one case last month, destroyed in a fire.

Unless your data is continually backed up externally (out of the house), you are at risk of that happening to you. Please don’t ever think ‘it will never happen to me.’

The best solution is now The Cloud. This eliminates the need for you to worry about backing up your files. Experience has taught me that most people simply don’t do it regularly enough, if indeed at all.

For a small monthly fee, from just over £5 per month, you can have complete peace of mind, knowing that all your computers are continually and automatically backed up. You get UNLIMITED storage space, unlike most other providers who charge you more for increased storage space. Another advantage of using Cloud storage is that you are able to access any file, from any internet connected computer, from anywhere in the world. You can also view your files from any Apple Ipad or Iphone, or Android device.

I cannot recommend this highly enough. For more information on this essential service, just call or email me. Prevention is better than cure.

Rebtel

Many thanks to my lovely client, Gabriella, for introducing me to a fantastic new telephone service called Rebtel.

I know this has nothing to do with computers, but anyone who makes international calls will just love this.

Basically, Rebtel is a service which allows you to make calls to international countries, from any phone, mobile or landline, at a fraction of the usually cost.

This is how it works.

You simply buy some credit from Rebtel, say £10.

You then go online to your Rebtel account, and add your international phone numbers for your friends and family.

Rebtel then convert that international number to a local unique UK phone number.

So you can then call that local UK number (which most people don’t pay for depending on your provider’s call package) and there you go. It’s as simple as that. You’re calling a local UK number and getting through to anywhere in the world.

How clever is that!!!!

Simply go to www.rebtel.com and register for free, which will give you 3 minutes free to try it out.

Wireless Range Extenders.

Do you find that there are black spots in your house where you can’t get Internet access on your laptop or tablet? Would you like to be able to use your wireless device out in the garden, but can’t get a signal?

The answer is Wireless Range Extenders. These little beauties do exactly what the name suggests; they extend the range of your wireless signal throughout the house.

They are fairly simple to set up, especially if you have a modern wireless router, and the results are immediate and amazing. So for around £50 plus or minus, depending upon the model you choose you can have full wireless internet connectivity everywhere in the house.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Smartphone.

In the next few weeks I will be taking delivery of my shining new Galaxy S4 Smartphone. I’m soooo excited. There is much debate about IPhones vs. Galaxy, but reading the reviews and speaking to users of both phones, the Samsung comes out on top most of the time.

What features attract me to the Galaxy against the IPhone are:

·         Swype text. You don’t have to tap the keyboard to type. You simply swipe your finger across the letters, and it just does it with amazing accuracy. Or you simply dictate your text or email, and it turns it into text!!! Unbelievable.

·         You can increase the storage memory by using a micro SD card to give you up to 64Gb extra space for pictures, music, videos etc.

·         It has removable battery, so you can buy a spare battery if you need it.

·         It has the most unbelievable camera which lets you take action pictures, e.g. diving into a swimming pool, including audio sound clip. Unreal!

·         Unlike the IPhone, there is a folder to store your documents. Why Apple hasn’t done this is a major mystery to me and millions of users.

And much much more too. I’ll give you a full review next month.

And finally……

Yes it’s another one of those devilish 3D stereogram pictures which drive everyone so mad. Can you spot the hidden image? It’s really clever.

That’s it for this month. I hope you enjoy the rest of the summer, and I’m always here if you need any help or advice.