LANcom Technology Blog

If you have a Windows Live Hotmail account, and use either Outlook 2007 or 2003, then you can get access to your hotmail emails through Outlook with the Outlook Connector.

The Outlook Connector is a free download that allows you to view your Hotmail emails along side your other email accounts, your hotmail inbox will simply appear as a separate inbox folder in your folder list. You will also have access to all of the contacts you have listed in Hotmail.

The advantages of connecting your Hotmail with Outlook include: the convenience of having your emails in one place, the ability to use features of Outlook 2007 like Instant Search, and the ability to access your information offline.

If you still have an old MSN Hotmail account and have not yet upgraded to Windows Live Hotmail you need to do this before you can use the Outlook Connector. It’s free, to learn more click here.

To learn more about the Outlook Connecter, and find out where you can download it click here

As you may have already heard the new iPhone 3G is set to become available through Vodafone in New Zealand on July 11^th.

The good news is, not only will it be faster at browsing the web it will also be significantly cheaper than the previous version. The iPhone 3G is priced at $199 in the US for the 8GB model and $299 for the 16GB model, which is about $259 and $397 NZ.

New features of the iPhone 3G include: fast 3G wireless technology, GPS mapping so you can find out where you are and how to get to where you want to be, and support for enterprise features like Microsoft Exchange. It will also make multi-tasking easier because you’ll be able to browse the web or check your emails while you are on a call.

The bad news is that the iPhone 3G will only be available on account, you will have to sign a long term contract to get one and contract prices are likely to be on the higher side.

You also won’t be able to get fast internet everywhere in New Zealand. According to Vodafone the fast 3G downloads will only be available in 19 New Zealand cities. In smaller towns and rural areas browsing the web will be at the much slower 2G speeds. A website that takes 20 seconds to load at 3G speeds will take about 1 minute at 2G speed.

To learn more about the iPhone 3G click here.

Update: The iPhone 3G contract pricing was announced on the 08/07. The plan with the largest ammount of data will cost $250 per month on a 24 month contract, but there is also a $130 per month plan and an $80 per month plan. For more details click here.

Roughly five months after Apple came out with the Worlds thinness notebook Toshiba has released the World’s lightest. The Portégé R500-S5007V weights only 1.08 kilos, while the MacBook Air weights in at 1.36 kilos.

The S5007V has a 12.1- inch screen (that’s 1.2 inches smaller than the MacBook Air) and unlike the MacBook Air has DVD drive.

It is the first laptop to include a 128GB solid-state drive. A solid-state drive has no moving parts and therefore uses less power. Another way power is conserved in this laptop is through the screen.The S5007V can turn off the LED backlighting when you are working in direct light and use the sun’s rays to illuminate the screen. All of this means that the S5007V’s battery will last up to 7.5 hours on a single charge.

According to Computer World this Laptop will start shipping in the third quarter of this year. To read more about the Portégé R500-S5007V click here.

A while ago on this blog we posted 8 IT tips to help curb global warming, here are 3 more we have thought of since.

1. Turn down the brightness of your computer monitor – The brighter you have your monitor set the more power it uses. If you don’t need your monitor to be as bright as it is, you can help curb global warming by turning it down a little using the controls on the front.
2. Turn off peripherals – If your computer has a printer, scanner, or speakers make sure they are turned off when you are not using them.
3. Use your laptop - Laptops typically consume less power than desktops, so if you have a laptop and do what you can on it rather than your desktop you’ll be saving power.

To see the original 8 IT tips to help curb global warming click here.

We are currently in the process of putting together our latest free information report “Free technologies that could improve your business”.

This report will look at six different free technologies that are readily available and how they could be of use in a business sense. It will look into the advantages and disadvantaged of these technologies, compare them to their pay alternatives, and let you know what you need to do to start using them yourself.

We hope to release this report to the LANcom Library in a few weeks, but if you would like to pre-order a hard copy version you can email us at info@lancom.co.nz

If you would like to learn more about any of our other free information reports such as: Things you need to know when buying a server, Remote working for our business, or Introduction to internet based marketing you can visit the LANcom Library at library.lancom.co.nz/LANcomLibrary.

MozyHome is a service that will automatically backup up to 2GB of files online for free. All you have to do to use this service is:

1. Sign up for your free account, you only have to provide an email address and a password to get one.
2. Download and install the Mozy software.
3. Select the files you would like it to back up.
4. Schedule Mozy to regularly backup those files either daily, weekly, or whenever your computer is not in use.

Mozy will then automatically back up the files that are important to you in a secure way, using 128-bit SSL encryption. Mozy will only backup what has changed since the last backup so after the initial backup subsequent backups will take very little time.

To learn more about MozyHome click here.

For those of you who don’t already know, Skype is free software that allows you to make audio calls, video calls, and conference calls free over the internet. It’s really easy to get set up with Skype, all you need to do is download and install the Skype software, sign up for a Skype account, and then add other Skype users to your contacts list.

Of course there are a lot of great advantages to using Skype

1. It’s free – By using Skype’s free service you can save a lot of money on your calls, both national and international.
2. It’s easy to use – To make a call all you have to do click on the persons name on your contact list and then click the call button. The person you are trying to call will receive a message on their computer letting them know and will have the option to accept or decline the call. Skype will also let you know if you have missed a call while you were away from your computer.
3. It gives you free and easy conference and video calling – with Skype you can conference call with up to nine people and video call with any of your contacts who have webcams.
4. It’s safe – Skype uses digital certificates and 256-bit encryption to protect users’ communications. It also allows you to a set you own privacy levels. You can choose whether to allow calls from anyone, just from those on your contact list, or just people you have shared your details with.

Here are the disadvantages

1. If you want Skype to work well then you, and the people you are calling, will need to have broadband. It is possible to make a Skype call on dialup but the sound quality will not be as good.
2. You can only call other Skype users for free. With Skype it is possible to call landlines and mobiles but you have to pay for this service.
3. If you want the sound quality to be as good as possible you may have to invest in a good headset with headphones and a Microphone. Using the built in microphone and speakers of you computer can result in a lot of feedback.

To find out more about Skype or to sign up click here.

Did you know that around 1 in 5 applications installed on Windows PC’s have known security flaws, but the users haven’t yet installed the patch provided by the vendor to fix these? These figures come from Secunia makers of a software vulnerabilities tracker.

So what can you do to ensure your computer is up to date with the lastest security?

Well here at LANcom we recommend that your keep your Automatic Updates turned on. This will ensure that you automatically receive the most important or ‘high-priority’ Microsoft updates, which includes security patches. To learn how to turn on your Automatic Update click here. If for some reason you do not have your Automatic Updates turned on you need to check the Microsoft Update website on a regular basis, so you can install security patches as soon as they become available.

As for internet browsers, if you are still using Internet Explorer 6 you may want to consider upgrading to Internet Explorer 7 because IE7 has added security features. If you are using another browser such as Firefox you should update it as soon as it lets you know an update is available.