September/October Newsletter

Autumn is around the corner and the nights are creeping in earlier. I hope you had a good summer and are keeping fit and well.

Here’s a roundup of the latest IT news.

Samsung Galaxy S4

I told you last month that I was excited about getting it, and I’ve now had it for a few weeks.

OMG, I LOVE IT!!!! I could spend the rest of this newsletter telling you how amazing it is, but I won’t bore you that much. I’ll just give you a quick review now, so if you are thinking about changing your mobile phone, why this is the ONLY phone to get. IPhones are SOOOO last year!

I love the Swipe text feature, which means that instead of tapping each letter when you are writing a text or email, you simply swipe your finger across the keyboard, and miraculously it knows the word you want. It saves so much time when writing.

The speed of getting web pages instantly is fantastic. It’s practically instant. The camera/video is HD quality and has some stunning features. Overall, it is super quick and a joy to use.

Two big advantages over the IPhone are firstly, it has a changeable battery, and so if you do run out of power and don’t have a charger to hand, you can simply change the battery. Second, whereas the IPhone has a fixed internal storage memory, the S4 has a slot for you to put in an SD memory card, to give you up to an additional 64Gb memory space, so practically unlimited room for storing pictures, videos, movies, music etc. Should you need more space, just add another memory card.

Overall, it is, in my opinion, the best smartphone on the market today. The Android operating system is quite different from Microsoft and Apple, and it has taken me a couple of weeks to fully understand it, but now I do, I just love it.

However, Apple have just released their 2 new IPhones, which I have yet to see and use. The reviews I have seen are very impressive, boasting a great improvement to the overall speed, camera, and even fingerprint login technology. So as soon as I’m able to play with it, I’ll give you an update.

So if you are thinking of upgrading your phone and need any help or advice, just call or email me.

Google Docs/Calendar

Most people only use Google when searching for information or using Gmail. But it does so much more that most people are simply not aware of.

Amongst the most useful features are Google Docs and Google Calendar.

When I got my Samsung Galaxy S4 (did I tell you I’ve got one?) I had a major problem straight away, trying to synchronise my Outlook calendar to the phone. After spending many many hours on the phone to Orange and Samsung, both having failed miserably, I was on the point of sending the phone back, simply because I live and run my business on my calendar and unless I could sync it to my home computer, it was useless to me. Then I had the brainwave. Why am I stressing trying to sync my Outlook calendar when I could simply export it to Google Calendar? So I copied my Outlook calendar into Google Calendar, and Hey Presto it works instantly and perfectly. My Google calendar is on my phone and it’s easy to view or add appointments when I’m out and about. It’s also there on my home computer (or accessible from any computer in the world) instantly updated with any changes I make. So if you use a calendar on your computer, which you need to view when you’re away from home, try Google Calendar, it’s just fantastic, and FREE.

Similarly, Microsoft have made billions by selling their Office programmes (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and regularly bringing out new versions to encourage you to upgrade and spend more money.

Google Docs is the FREE online version of Office Home & Student, which has most of the features of its Microsoft equivalent, but with other advantages. It’s stored online, therefore accessible from any computer in the world. It is very easy to use to create documents, spreadsheets and presentations, as well as more complex applications such as Project Management. There is a free mobile app, so you can access it from any Smartphone or Ipad or tablet. File management is simple as you can create folders and subfolders, to keep your work properly organised. You can even collaborate online if you want to let other people access and work on your files.

Other Google services you may not know about.

As well as Gmail, which is now the second most popular email programme after Hotmail, there are many services that Google offer, mostly for free. These include Web Albums, so you can store and share your photo albums, Google Translate that miraculously converts either text or whole web pages, from practically any language to any language, amazing. My Portfolio, which lets you keep track of your stocks and shares portfolio and gives you live information about the current status of your investments. The Shopping facility is a great Price Comparison service. Simply type in the name of the product you want to buy and it will give you a list of all the available retailers and their prices. The difference between the highest and lowest prices can be staggering for exactly the same product.

And there is so much more available. If you would like more information, please call or email me.

Tune up and service.

Is your beloved PC or laptop running slower than it used to? Most computers will lose performance over time. There are many reasons why a computer slows down and doesn’t perform as well as it should .The good news is that you don’t have to put up with it. For a fixed price I could come and service your computer and restore it to its former glory. Also checking that it is clear of any viruses or other nasties and fully protected. Call or email me to arrange a convenient time.

Scams.

I write regularly to warn you of online scams, such as Phishing, which looks as if it’s from a genuine Bank or Building Society, saying there is a problem with your account, or even Inland Revenue, telling you that you are entitle to a tax refund.

I heard this week of a telephone scam (which although not computer related) you should be aware of. This is a copy of an email I received from one of my clients;

 “my poor dad was scammed last night  by someone pretending to be the police telling him his credit cards had been cloned and they needed to have them sent over….so he put them in a taxi. The clever bit is that they asked him to call his bank – but the fraudsters didn’t ever put the phone down, so when he called the numbers on the back of his card, he simply got through to the fraudsters again… Apparently there’s a bit of it about – targeting elderly people, so perhaps something to pass on to those around you?

So just be extra careful when getting an email or phone call from someone you don’t know. A very common scam is getting a phone call from “Windows” usually in an Asian accent, telling you of a major security problem they have detected on your computer. They try to get you to make changes to your computer, which if you follow their instructions, will give them free access to your computer. Don’t think ‘I wouldn’t ever fall for that’. Be on your guard at all times. If ever in doubt, you are welcome to call me.

And finally….

A simple puzzle.

Three flatmates, Tom, Dick and Harry, decide to buy a radio for the flat. They go down to the local shop and see one they like which is £30. They each put in £10 and take it home.

However, the shopkeeper, who is a very honest chap, realises after they’ve left, that he has overcharged them by £5, as the radio was only £25, not £30.

He sees their friend John walking past the shop and calls him and explains his mistake. He takes £5 from the till and asks John to give it back to the boys.

But John, who is a bit of a rogue, decides that he will tell the boys the radio was £27 and gives them each back £1, and he keeps the other £2 for himself.

So, the boys have now paid £9 each (3 x £9 = £27), plus the £2 John has kept for himself, makes £29 in total.

Where has the other pound gone????????

Let’s see who gives me the correct answer first.

That’s it for this month. Let me know if I can be of any further help to you.

Henry