LANcom Technology Blog

Well according to tests commissioned by Microsoft and performed by Principled Technologies, Vista SP1 is faster than the pre- service pack version, but is not always faster than the older Windows XP.

These test found that Vista SP1 was faster than the pre-service pack version at 87% of the tested consumer functions , but when they tested Vista SP1 against XP; XP was faster in some cases.

What they found was that after a computer came out of sleep mode Windows XP was faster at performing 61% of the tested consumer functions. While if the computer had not entered sleep mode since being started then Vista SP1 was faster in 74% of the consumer functions tested.

Overall Principle Technologies concluded that ‘Windows Vista SP1 and Windows XP performed comparably on most test operations’, although there is some debate over these results.

To read more about this click here.

Hap tip to Computerworld for the idea for this post.

The LANcom Timesaver is a small booklet we have put together full of shortcut’s and simple computer tips to help you save time when you work. We have made it an A6 size so you can easily keep it by your computer and flip through it anytime you need it.

Did you know that learning to do just five things using keyboard shortcuts could save you as much as 4 hours a year? To pre-order your free copy of this booklet and learn how, you can contact us at info@lancom.co.nz.

The hard copy of the LANcom Timesaver will be available shortly but if you would like to download and print your own copy now click here.

Over the past year Google research has found over 3 million websites with pages that tried to get their visitors to download malicious software such as spyware, viruses, and Trojans. That works out to 1 in every 1000 sites.

These ‘dive-by downloads’, that happen without the user knowing they have downloaded anything, have become much more popular in recent years.

Even if you only visit trustworthy sites you may still be a risk because malicious hackers can embed code on them which opens windows to other dangerous sites. Google looked into this and found that visiting un-reputable sites was only slightly more risky than visiting reputable ones.

So what can you do to help prevent your computer from getting Malware (Malicious Software)?

• Always keep you software up-to-date. Especially make sure your operating system and internet browser is updated as updates become available.
• Install a trusted anti-virus and anti-spyware software. Here at LANcom we use NOD32 anti-threat software.

To read more about Googles malware findings click here

Hat tip to Computer World for the idea for this post

We recently had a member of our team here at LANcom change from being an at the office employee to working from home 80% of the time. So we thought we would put our experience to use and give you this list of things you need to consider when you set yourself up to work from home

Of course your main concern will be how to access your company’s network. In this situation VPN was used to access the computer at the office from home and a Terminal Server session used to access the accounting package. If you will not be connected to your company’s network then you need to remember to do regular back ups.

Here are the other aspects you need to think about

• The home PC – This must be of similar capabilities as the work PC or else you may experience problems with applications. For example if you take an Office 2007 document remotely from your work computer and copy it to your home computer (in order to print it out) and your home computer doesn’t have enough memory then it will not bring the entire document across.
• Stationary - The home office needs to be stocked with the necessary stationary.
• Internet connection – An appropriate internet connection needs to be arranged with the employer.
• Phone arrangements – In our situation the phone extension was redirected to the home phone. Then a record of all out bound toll calls and cell phone calls was keep so they could be reimbursed. We also arranged for caller ID to be blocked so that no one would call back the home phone directly and all calls would come via the office.
• Communication – How will you communicate with your fellow employees? Normal interoffice communication tools e.g. Office communicator can be used for short questions, but for more complicated communications email may be better as To –Do’s can be flagged for action at a more appropriate time
• Printing – If you’re remote accessing your computer from home and printing files these will be printed at the office. So you need to arrange for someone to collect your printed pages from the printer and put them on your desk for you to pick up the next time you are in.
• Shredding - How will you get rid your paper with company or client information on it? If you do not have a shredder, or open fireplace, at home then you could put aside all items that need shredding and bring them in to the office next time you are in.
  
• Phone/email groups – You may need to be removed from certain phone or email groups as getting these messages may be pointless if you are not physically at the office.
  
• Scheduling of meetings – If you need to attend regular meetings try to schedule them so that they all fit into a nominated at the office day.
  
• The home office - You need to create a dedicated work area and give careful consideration to light and furniture. You need a comfortable chair and desk, and filing close at hand. Also because your home is probably not air condition you may need a heater or a fan. If you can’t have a separate room then use movable screens to divide separate personal from work space.
  
• Hardware and software – You need to make sure you have at your disposal all the hardware and software necessary to do your job from home e.g. are you able to send faxes.
  
• Review – You will probably need to review the work from home situation on a 6 monthly basis to assess if it is working, if the costs have changed, who will absorb changes in costs.
  
• Dress and attitude - Dress in a way that personally works for you to help productivity. Some people need to dress as if going to the office; others prefer the loose comfortable approach of casual clothing. You also need to have an attitude that you are working from home, you are not ‘at home’.

Microsoft also has a good article on this topic; Steps to good work habits away from the office, click here see this article.

Well it’s been nearly a month since the MacBook Air, the world’s thinnest notebook, was introduced at the Macworld Expo keynote. There have been a great number of reviews done on it since then so we thought we would give you a quick summery of what everyone seems to like, and dislike about this amazingly thin notebook.

First the good

• Its 0.76 inches (19 mm) at its thickest and 0.16 (4mm) at its thinnest and can easily fit inside at A4 envelope.
• Despite only weighing 3 pounds it has a 13.3 inch screen and a full sized keyboard.
• The touchpad uses gesture-based, multi-touch technology meaning you can use two fingers to: rotate images, pinch and enlarge images, zoom in on text and much more.
• It has a sturdy aluminium frame so should travel well.

The not so good

• It doesn’t have a removable battery, which means you can’t carry a spare battery with you.
• It has only one USB port and only three connectors all together (a headphone jack, the single USB port, and a port for connecting to an external monitor)
• There is no build in optical drive, which is understandable given how thin it is. Instead it includes software that allows you to use the DVD drive of another computer on the same network or else you can purchase an external DVD drive that connects to the USB port.

To learn more about the MacBook Air click here.

Stumble Upon is a free toolbar that helps you find websites that are of interest to you. The Stumble Upon toolbar comes with a stumble button, which every time to click it will deliver a website to you which is based on your interests. These websites have been rated by other stumblers with your interests so you know the sites you visit will be relevant to you. Also as you look at websites you can rate them with either a thumbs up or thumbs down and over time this allows Stumble Upon to further learn the kind of sites you want to visit.

So what are the main benefits of using Stumble Upon?

• You only see pages that other like minded people have recommended.
• You’re likely to find things you never would have found using a search engine and having to hunt through the results.
• It’s easy to use.
• You can choose from 500 different topics so you only receive the most relevant results

The stumble upon tool bar can be used with both Firefox and Internet Explorer.

To learn more about Stumble Upon click here.

If you would like to use an online demo version of Stumble Upon to see how it works click here (but remember the online version is not based on your interests so it won’t be as good as the real thing).

Google is currently experimenting with alternative views. These are different ways of displaying your search results so that it’s easier to find exactly what you’re looking for. The three new views they’re experimenting with are a timeline view, a map view and an additional info view.

The timeline view allows you to click on a time period on a timeline when searching a topic and then results relating to that time period will appear first in the list. You can also manually type the time period you require in the box provided. The dates mentioned on the site will also appear in bold beneath the link to make finding what you want even easier.

Here’s an example of what this looks like

The map view displays a Google map next to your search results with locations mentioned in the results marked on the map. This may be quite useful if you are searching for something in a particular area.

The info view allows you to select what info you would like displayed below each link that appears in the list of search results. You can chose for it to display the dates mentioned on each site, measurements mentioned, locations mentioned, or the images that appear on that site. You can also apply a date filter, measurement range or ask for a particular location.

All these new views are still in the experimental stage so you won’t find them on the regular site yet. But if you would like to try out searching with them click here.