JOURNEYMAN GEEK

2011-11-18T21:47:00.001Z

Anyone who builds or fixes PCs knows what the laborious part of the job is.... the finishing off work, i.e. loading the software & utilities required to keep the PC protected and useable. It takes hours, and is pretty monotonous. However there is a really clever utility on NINITE.COM which lets you select the most popular software packages and downloads a script which will auto download and install for you. Its really good, and lets you forget about the penultimate step.
And finally.... remember to test that it all works...... B-)

Linux Again !!

2011-10-02T16:52:00.003+01:00

A busy summer has had me away from the blogosphere...... so today I'm exploring Linux again and looking at PINGUY distro, which seems pretty good for the non-technical user to play with.
L8R.......!!

The Most Difficult IT Task ?

2011-06-30T23:28:00.002+01:00

so.... what's the most difficult IT task you may be charged to complete........ ?

Here's one...... creating labels. They are a pain in the butt to do 'cos its time consuming and fiddly and never come out right.

Save yourself the hassle - user Avery Wizard to create the labels in MS Office.

Simple to do, lots of label templates, and best of all it's free !

Heres the link:

http://www.avery.co.uk/avery/en_gb/Demos/Software-Demos/Avery-Wizard-Software-for-Microsoft-Office.htm

Disaster recovery Essential Tool #2

2011-06-28T23:12:00.004+01:00

......so it wont boot, and there is NO BACKUP DATA and they need their pics, docs, vids, etc. Use PARTED MAGIC, it will boot up the PC, then scan it for viruses or malware, then copy the user folder to the spare partition (which you've just created) and format the boot partition and reload the factory default image or the o/s.

Format internal and external hard drives.
Move, copy, create, delete, expand & shrink hard drive partitions.
Clone your hard drive, to create a full backup.
Test hard drives for impending failure.
Test memory for bad sectors.
Benchmark your computer for a performace rating.
Securely erase your entire hard drive, wiping it clean from all data.
Gives access to non-booting systems allowing you to rescue important data.
Runs from the CD, no install required.

Disaster Recovery Essential Tool

2011-06-28T22:35:00.010+01:00

Often (very often) I'll get a PC in that will not boot. It has to be rebuilt, completely. Now that's a time consuming chore, and one which becomes boring after only a few repetitions.
So whats to do ? Ghost it ? Hmmm maybe not, had a few that just do not recover correctly, and time consuming too.....
So an alternative "ghosty" is required....... step in MACRIUM REFLECT. This FREE application makes a direct copy of the "build" onto a separate partition, which can be retrieved if neccessary i.e. if the build refuses to boot at a later stage. Compatible with Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7. Whats more, the recovery CD which is used to retrieve the Macrium reflect image, is a Linux boot disk. So no problems there, just boot up and run the recovery process. Reliable and pretty fast as well. http://www.macrium.com/reflectfree.asp

The Best Business Backup Solution

2011-06-23T23:17:00.007+01:00

A business needs to back up its data - 90% of businesses fail within 6 months after losing their ICT infrastructure. The most common cause of failure is lack of investment / ongoing maintenance programme / users incompetence / employee theft / whatever...... Anyway, the data is gone / lost / wandering the planet but nowhere near where it needs to be.
So whats to do ? One approach I have tested and deployed is a NAS Server, Network Access Storage, which is like a big hard drive without the attached computer. Modern NAS devices have built in management software which allows the user to configure and setup scheduled backups to teh server.

One of the best IMHO is the SYNOLOGY DISKSTATION. These devices come in various sizes or can be user customized to the storage capacity of your choice. I have a 2Tb RAID configuration, which is 2 x 2Tb drives configured as 2Tb mirrored to the second drive. What's really good is the DSM software - Disk Station Manager 3.1. The Data Replicator software will set up an automatic synchronisation of the selected data to the Disk Station. Or, you can set up a scheduled backup to the Disk Station. Better still you can have many devices connected to the DS and auto-backup each machines data. A Gigabit switch with CAT5e or CAT6 cable is advisable to speed up the backups.

Best of all, the Synology Diskstation is affordable for a "serious" home user or a small business.
Check out the weblink (right side) or search You Tube for Synology Diskstation.

Back in the HIGH LIFE AGAIN !!

2011-06-23T01:37:00.002+01:00

Well Hellooooo there..... it's been a long, long time..... about 3 years I think.

Why so long? I've had a couple of major life changes, been made redundant from the telecoms job and got a new ICT job immediately, which has been a saviour. The new job is busy, and thoroughly enjoyable for the "Prince of Geek".

Still working on the wee enterprise, still investing in kit, still investigating what I can do to help others with their techy problems.
Oh yeah.... still enjoying life and consider myself lucky to be able to do so !!

Journeyman TV documentaries

2008-01-03T16:26:00.000Z

Found this link on You Tube, some very interesting and thought provoking subjects are featured, definitely worth a look. For MOI it's handy having the information to backup any argument that I may have instigated..... B-)
The link is on the right side down at the bottom...... (makes you look at the rest of the stuff!)

Powerline Networking

2008-01-03T16:06:00.000Z

Problem: computer(s) are located in one end of the house and user is located in other end of house, too far away to run an ethernet cable and wireless signal so poor as to be unusable. OR the house is solidly built & wireless signals are blocked by thick stone walls.
Solution: use Powerline Networking, which plugs into your ethernet router and the electrical wall sockets and "simply" sends your data through the electrical supply.
Plus points: VERY VERY EASY to install, just connect the 1st plug to the ethernet port in the router and plug in, then connect the 2nd plug to the pc/laptop using ethernet cable and plug in. Network connected!
ALSO: Very Very Easy to expand & upgrade - add a wireless point anywhere there is a plug. The wireless powerline network plug also has an ethernet socket to connect to the pc/laptop via cable and use the wireless option with other devices.

www.solwise.co.uk have all the details and kit required for networking, audio and video streaming, and even ip webcams for security etc. There's a link on the weblinks bottom right of the blog. B-)

More Good Stuff

2007-12-28T15:21:00.001Z

Wrapping up the year just past - where did it all go ? - here's a some more stuff which I use regularly and reliably.
FIREFOX - the best web browser for me. I do use IE 7.0 and like its facilities, but the Fox is faster and easier to use, especially if using the "Vista-Aero" IE7 clone theme.
COBIAN BACKUP - I've mentioned Cobian Backup previously and use it on all my Windows PCs. The new Vista PC (aka BigBox) now backups to internal and external drives, and if I can get it sorted out will have a wireless NAS in the New Year, yet more rescued kit pressed into service.
AVG7.5 Free - I fix loads of nasty infected PCs but never seem to be hit by viruses or spyware/malware. Thanks in part to AVG 7.5 Free edition, which now auto updates on at least a daily basis, which indicates that there are a whole load of nasties out there.
AVAST! Anti-Virus - and this is the other protection tool. Auto updates and verbally tells you that it has done so. Good marketing trick, audible reassurance that you are protected. Also gives one years free protection when you register on the site with your email address.
SPYBOT - yet another extremely useful free utility - removes Spyware/Malware etc, used in conjunction with
ADAWARE - which does the same as Spybot, but always throws up a wee bit more. These two are essential & should be used to scan your PC every month or so.
BLOGGER - yeah! this is it! - wish I had more time to update it more often but I do have a life to live.......... B-)
KOMPOZER - this is a free website design tool which is the "fix" for NVU which I have used previously to create & maintain my website. Which is another thing that I don't get a lot of time to do.........
POWERPOINT - I use this quite a lot at my "day job" and although I did not like using it to begin with, I've grown accustomed to it. I won't even admit to being an expert, but I have produced some good enterprise dashboards with it, one set actually being called "funky" !!
CX NOW! - a free application from Business Objects, which I use to add interest to the graphs I produce.
The promo sez: "CX Now is the free, fun and easy software that transforms your everyday Excel spreadsheets into persuasive presentations and dynamic business dashboards, and then share them easily via Microsoft PowerPoint, Word, or the Web. Download CX Now In 5 minutes you will transform a dull spreadsheet into an interactive and persuasive PowerPoint presentation. Move a slider, and watch your column chart change. Push a button, and see your projected sales for the next three years. It's that easy. Don't bore another audience with the same old static presentations."
OK Dokey - the reality is that CX Now! makes a boring or poor graph into an interesting & interactive graphic. End of Story. To do the rest requires investment in the other Business Objects applications, and also a lot of time investment as well. However the results I have produced so far do the job for the client. Good Enuff 4 me!
VISTA - yep, MicroSoft VISTA - I have it on two PCs and its pretty good, either that or I have got used to looking at it. It freezes often, especially on the iDeq PC, and it still won't do simple things like copy CDs easily, or write DVDs, and it requires tweaking to work with some older applications, but for the large part it is a useful and usable operating system. Mind you, I do have it customised a fair bit with sidebar apps which I would use regularly, and which with just a wee bit of effort could easily be replicated in Windows XP. Furthermore, I am convinced that the reason that Vista runs so smoothly most of the time is the amount of RAM which is installed - 2Gb on both PCs.
TOSHIBA LAPTOP - I resurrected a damaged Toshiba L20 a while back, basically a complete rebuild with new components. Apart from the mousepad & buttons not working everything else is just dandy. Yet again, the 2Gb of installed RAM helps, and its realistically too slow for Vista, but runs Win XP with ease. And doesn't fall over losing all the data. The Tosh has relaced my Fuji laptop as my "work" PC, because it runs XP and Office XP & so is compatible with the day job platform. My next NEW LAPTOP will be a Tosh with a 17" screen.

Best on the Web ?

2007-12-28T14:54:00.000Z

Hi again - I've been gradually converted over to using the Web2.0 facilities on Google - i.e. Gmail, Calendar, Docs & Spreadsheets, Maps, WebHistory etc and really now find them invaluable, in particular Googlemail aka Gmail. What I really like about Gmail is that spam filter - it really ships out all that crap that gets sent to me, a considerable amount - I cleared 200+ spam email from my ISP account which were received in only a couple of days. In fact I think I'll drop the ISP email addresses and only use the Gmail email in the future.

Google Calendar is also really useful for me, I can schedule appointments, to dos' etc and the calendar reminds me by email & popup onscreen. Docs & Spreadsheets I don't use too much, but all of the blog files are stored there ready for posting when I have the time.

Using Google Maps I recently calculated a 90-mile round trip for a tech. support job, and so decided to charge mileage and time instead of time alone as I would have done previously. WebHistory isn't (to me) all that useful as I have installed the Google Desktop, so any item I need to find is available. However it is good to run through the WebHistory occassionally to look again at research on stuff which I was intending to do. [The best laid plans of mice & men......]

So, after some consideration, I have this year become an entrenched user of Google and reckon that the web applications are "Best on the Web"

XMAS 2007 - FREE STUFF!

2007-12-27T18:44:00.000Z

Aye - Christmas 2007 - hope you had a good 'un, and are ready for the New Year!
I had a cracker of a Chrimbo, kids back home, dog in tow, a real family "do" with enough dinner to feed a regiment.....B-O
Anyway, some free stuff to kick off with.
Small Businesses TAKE NOTE: good old Microsoft has launched a FREE accounting package called Microsoft Office Accounting 2008 - Google it and download the application. I checked it out...... it seems to be similar to QuickBooks / Sage and is free to try out. There is the usual nag screens, but we can live with that. The COST of the application is just £149.00p, worth it if you need a fully blown accounting package, and cheaper than the other packages Sage & QuickBooks. HOWEVER the free version does all that a small business would require to do, VAT Return, Sales and Purchase Invoices etc so pretty much a good enough to get started freebie. Plus points are that it is MS Office compatible, so if you have set up your business planning/costs/etc using Excel or Word you can import that data into the accounting package. Very Useful indeed, as a lot of wee businesses use basic spreadsheets to plan & kick off an enterprise idea. Therefore it saves a load of work, and it is free!
Have a look, try it out, at the end of the day you'll only have spent time on it...... B-)

BigBox update

2007-12-07T15:27:00.000Z

Aye aye - where huv ye all been ?

Latest update to BigBox is a Xerox 20" LCD with glass screen - got it el cheapo, & its a vast improvement on the 19" CRT, which is now sperfluous to requirements.

Thats it - Sayonara !

Quick Books Install to Windows Vista

2007-12-06T19:35:00.000Z

Quick Books Install to Windows Vista

Supposedly the world’s most popular accounting program, Quick Books is not (unfortunately) compatible with Windows Vista.

Here's the solution though:
1 - place the QB cd in the drive and OPEN / EXPLORE the CD - DO NOT USE THE AUTO RUN options if it appears.
2 - Select the SETUP file on the CD & right click - select Properties and choose Compatibility
3 - Place a tick in the box in Compatibility Mode & select Windows XP SP2, then Apply & OK. You may have to select Win98 if you are attempting to install QB8 or lower.
4 - Right Click on Setup & select RUN AS ADMINISTRATOR option - the installation should start and complete as normal. You may be prompted to enter the installation key code, this is on the back of the QB manual, typically takes the format nnnn-nnn-nnn-nnnn
5 - You should now have a QB icon on your desktop. Run QB and either set up a new company, or copy over your old company file (your_co_name.QBB) into the folder C:\Program Files\Intuit\QuickBooks, and choose that file when prompted to open a company. Check all your entries are correct - sales & purchase invoices, profit & loss, and stock entries if you use the facility.
6 - After you have checked all is OK, run the backup option. Modify the backup destination to (if possible) a different drive i.e. D:\DATA\Intuit, or even better a removable USB hard drive such as a Western Digital Passport or a Buffalo external drive (NOT A PEN DRIVE - the data is too large). Make sure that the destination backup folder name is kept short - I've tried G:\Petes\Intuit\QuickBooks\Backup and it fails, but worked OK with G:\Petes\Intuit as the target backup.
7 - When you start up QB again, you will be prompted to REGISTER the program. I make a point of keeping all the key codes reqrd, and in this instance choose the PHONE option and then entered the registration key code, which takes the format nnnn-nnnn-nnnn. ( I didn't want to listen to the Intuit support people telling me that it wouldn't work and that I HAVE TO UPGRADE....... )
8 - Finally, use a program such as Cobian Backup (its free) to make a regular scheduled backup of the whole Intuit folder & sub-folders - I do mine every night around 8:45pm and once it is set up it is automatically completed.

Print this note off and keep it with your QB cd & manual.

Hope this helps

BTW - tested with QB 2001 on Vista Ultimate and QB8 on Vista Home Premium - both working just fine.

2007-09-09T14:56:00.000+01:00

Making progress......

This last month I have been surveying my compact & bijou domain and thought about tidying it up a bit..... (steady boy...). And not before time too...... B-) Some other things happened & are about to happen which forces me into some semblance of action. I may NEED to make the workshop into an OFFICE. SO, the first step is to reduce the pile of junk i.e. PC components which "may be useful in the future" ( and never have been in the past ). So I have resurrected the old BigBox (aka Phoenix) and it now sits under the desk where Fuji resides. BigBox also has a new powersupply, a FoxConn motherboard, 2Gb RAM, AMD 3200 CPU, nVidea graphics card, 80Gb SATA drive, 40Gb EIDE drive, and all of this built for about £150!!! Also, it now runs Windows Vista Ultimate, which with the extra RAM installed runs as good as anything that I have built in the last 20+ years. And there is the reall issue - VISTA NEEDS 2GB RAM TO RUN WELL. No doubt about it, more ram = better functionality. I detest a pc which splutters and churns about when all it has to do is get on with the job.

Some vendors sell Windows Vista Home Basic with 512Mb RAM installed. I've had a couple of these in to get "fixed" and the easy method is to install some more ram (1GB) and then look at what happens when the PC is booted up again. The prime culprit in my opinion is the Norton Internet Security Suite. Get rid of it. Completely. Including the Live Update options. Install AVG7.5 Free and also AVAST! as the anti virus protection. Use Spybot and Adaware to check for malware etc. Also, Windows Defender which comes with Vista is pretty good at protecting the PC.

I'm running my old 19" CRT on this resurrected BigBox and its real fine. At last I have a display which is easy to navigate and use. I have the Vista sidebar installed with some useful gadgets and everything else which I need I can find quickly. I've managed to network the printers using an Edimax Print Server plugged into the Netgear router, and running the Vista version of the server software. I'm also using NETWORK MAGIC to check the other PCs on the network are all fine and dandy. The ONLY DOWNSIDE is that as far as I know it still will not run my accounting package QuickBooks 2001, which runs on XP just fine. Oh, and webcams seem to be a nightmare of there own making. They just don't seem to work in Vista at all. Admittedly all the webcams I've tried are quite old i.e. a couple of years, but the vendors have had enough time to provide drivers for Vista. Do I use a webcam regularly ? NO. Am I likely to ? NO. So no problem there.

Hasta La Vista !

2007-07-03T20:01:00.000+01:00

The Wider View ...........

Nah! its not a rant about the earth-shattering happenstances which befall me from time to time, simply that I've got a new monitor on the HP PC. Once again an impending influx of moolah and purchasing conditions ("you must buy hardware before you can buy Windows XP at this price") qualified the purchase.

This is a YURAKU 22" TFT Wide-screen, and of course I'm quite pleased with it, especially as it cost only a smidgen over £100. This has replaced my ancient but reliable 19" CRT, which when I bought it maybe seven years ago or more cost me about £700+. Of course at that price it doesnt have HDMI or even DVI interface, but hey! its a monitor FFS! How times have changed, even good quality kit has dropped in price. The wide-screen is pretty cool, suppose I should watch a DVD on it..... Anyway I also changed the screen resolution to 1280 x 800, which to my simply logic equates to nearly 4x3 ratio.

OK thats it, I'm outta here! Sayonara !!

2007-07-03T19:49:00.000+01:00

Its ALIVE !!

Ah well now, the HP PC replacement for BigBox has been installed & must say that it is running pretty well. Its amazing the things that you can discard once push comes to shove. Having arranged my data storage on the BB II, all I had to do was remove the 2nd HDD and insert it into the HP PC. This gives me another HDD with the original working data for the whole family, and yet another partition to use for backup. I also have the One-Touch drive for data backup, but I'm not using the horrendous Retrospect software for backups, I'm using COBIAN BACKUP 8, which is automatic and excellent. The HP PC has a Firewire socket on front which I will be able to use, and about 8 USB sockets (2 front, 6 rear) which will add facility.

After many years of excellent service BigBox II is no more I'm afraid. A critical evaluation of it proved to be more critical than evaluation, and I decided that the hardware wasn't worth rescuing, not even as a Linux box, so it will be stripped down and the components used in a new BigBox ( Son of BigBox II ). I think we'll go smaller, faster, better this time around and maybe even stretch to a Vista build for-as-little-dosh-as-I-need-to-spend. I feel an eBay session coming on.......

'Lo again...... B-)

2007-06-20T00:16:00.000+01:00

Well here we are again, back on the Blogger site, updating the ramblings. I really have to do it more often as the Bishop said to the actress.... B-)

Tomorrow (today actually) I'm replacing the old BigBox with a rescued PC, and relegating BigBox to fileserver status. It's had a good run, rescued from an office originally, its been the main PC in the workshop for many years. For the last year or so its been too slow though, and now its time to let it sit in the corner doing very little indeed. Funny how you become attached to them..... B-)

I use the Fuji laptop for my main stuff, but the new HP PC is faster I think, so may migrate a load of stuff to that. I'll also have to use MS Office XP/2003, as Office 2007 will not run my sheets and presentations from the old version. Crap.

Sayonara.......|-)

2007-05-28T21:33:00.000+01:00

OFFICE SOFTWARE – THE OPEN SOURCE SOLUTION ?

I’ve used Open Office for years, since it was called Star Office, and was supported from Germany. I like it, it’s not as complex as Word / Excel and is fully compatible. But its only one package of many open source applications which are available as alternatives to the leading packages.

I’ve deliberately tried to use open source and cross platform software on my systems and also on my new systems builds. So that’s why we have Open Office, AVG7, The Gimp, NVU, Firefox, Thunderbird, GAIM, and others freely installed on the PCs I build and repair. The only thing missing is Evolution, which is the Novell equivalent of MS Outlook, and has Mail, Contacts, Diary, Tasks and is compatible with MS Exchange servers. I like Evolution. It works well, and also can integrate with my Palm handheld.

However, much as I would like to see open source become the norm, the opposition is well entrenched. In my daily work I use MS Office XP - in fact I use Excel a whole lot, to create business activity monitoring dashboards with graphics. I'm also looking at introducing a degree of interactivity by using Powerpoint as well. The downside is that these applications are expensive for a user to buy, for a corporate it is a legitimate business overhead. But we users sometimes like to work from home,so it is useful to have the software where & when we need it. Its called DEDICATION. The MS Office files are also HUGE, unwieldy data monsters, which block mailboxes etc. So I have had a look around for the open source solution to suit MY REQUIREMENTS. Bad news, it doesn't exist. Simle stuff like creating formula and graphics is OK. Its when you come to modify & manipulate the data that you strike problems. Open Office files are just not compatible. My Powerpoint wireframe template with hyperlinks to other slides etc looks like the PC has lost its video card. Graphics and text overlaid all over the place. Crap.

What I really require is an open source Windows & Linux compatible application which is simple to use and can display information from a spreadsheet or a database, and be interactive. Am I asking too much ? Yes I think so, at least at this moment. So its back to Excel and Powerpoint in the meantime.

SCHEDULING ?

2007-05-28T21:02:00.000+01:00

The more observant amongst y'all will have noticed that my blog posts are all a bit recent. This is because I originally wrote this blog well over two years ago, and it was hosted by Opera!. However, my needs are now to use Google Docs & Sheets to write stuff, and from there it is a couple of clicks to transfer my rant to the journeymangeek.blogspot.com site. S'easy. Even for me.

So more advice from the fizzer : Go get yourself a Googlemail account and use it. If your ISP goes titsup then you'll be glad you have Googlemail. And you can blog to your hearts content.

2007-05-28T20:23:00.000+01:00

WIRELESS UBER ALLES – WIRELESS DEVICES STOOP TO CONQUER ?

Just seen the latest “must have” device - a wireless print server from SWEEX, which has USB ports and enables cable free printing. Wireless devices used to be expensive and considered too geeky for normal usage. However Joe User has now become wireless friendly with his wireless router, wireless adaptors, wireless laptop, wireless keyboard, wireless mouse, wireless PDA and wireless phone. So now we can print to our printer(s) from almost anywhere in the house / office.

Oh joy ! Picture this - I’m having a sly kip in the comfortable workshop chair, happily dreaming of what new project I’m going to pursue, when all of a sudden I’m awoken by the scraping of a printer drum coughing itself alive so that it can print its load of dead trees for the power user at the other end of the building. Another couple of moments like that and it will be getting unplugged sharply !!

UPDATE 1: about two years on from this original post things have changed. The wireless printer server wasn't the latest & greatest device as I had expected it to be, in fact it seems to be few & far between. I currently have a customer interested in one, but the price has actually risen since then, and now looks like to be around £80 installed. All the big vendors apart from Belkin and LinkSys seem to have pulled out of the market, and there seem to be issues regarding support for certain printers and MFC devices.

MAY 2007 UPDATE - well the customer decided that the Edimax wireless print server wasn't exactly how she envisaged it would work. She thought that they plugged into the printer just like a USB wireless adaptor and she could print from anywhere....... err, Nope, not exactly. So I have the device in my workshop now and it works just fine. (See blog about assets.....) Added the wee laser and the colour printer/scanner device to it. No probs. APART FROM it won't look at Linux, or to be accurate, the other way around, Linux won't look at the Edimax device. I'm sure that there is a solution. Working on it....... now, actually......

2007-05-28T20:16:00.000+01:00

WEBSITE DESIGN – A CUSTOMER-DRIVEN SOLUTION ?

I was at a customers premises recently and the talk got around to progress on their website. They had contracted a web design company to produce the site, but this was months ago, and as the site is for primarily the marketing tool for the business, it was essential that it was active soon. However the issue seems to be one of decisions being made about what is required, where it is required and what should it look like. The process is similar to the current model employed by many enterprises – they advise the web designer of the changes required etc and an upgrade to the site is done, sooner or later as the case may be.

A rare and fleeting glimpse of clarity saw me suggesting to them that they should look at the big picture – What do they want to do with the website ? How do they see themselves maintaining it ? Who is in control ? Can it be updated quickly and accurately ? And that seems to be the crux of the issue – speedy updating and maintenance. So I suggested a couple of what seemed to me to be obvious decisions.

First of all the website host should be local as much as possible. You can make contact with them face to face, which is very important when chasing up issues. Secondly, this ensures that the money you pay stays within the local community, also very important. Thirdly, the webhost should offer Apache, PHP and MySQL options. Once you have that you can use a CMS such as Joomla! ( www.joomla.org ) to maintain the website and once again put you in control.

CMS stands for Content Management Systems which simply enable websites to be maintained as and when required. A content management system is computer software for organizing and facilitating collaborative creation of documents and other content. A content management system is sometimes a web application used for managing websites and web content, though in many cases, content management systems require special client software for editing and constructing articles. They can also be used for storage and single sourcing of documentation for a firm including but not limited to operators' manuals, technical manuals, sales guides, etc.

SCENARIO: You may be attending a trade show and see a product that you can sell. You can use your CMS to update quickly and efficiently. No waiting around for “the designer” to appear in the office and update your site. Software such as Joomla! is easy to use and can even be hosted on your own webserver, for complete security. There are other CMS available, including MAMBO! Which was the forerunner of Joomla! All of these are worth looking at if you require to break the chain of control over your website.

To paraphrase Richard Branson "Screw it - lets do it!"

2007-05-28T20:15:00.000+01:00

STARTUP ADVICE

Most small services/repair outfits start off "doing it on the side", in fact the business self-help books all advise a period of pre-launch experience. I've been on pre-launch for nearly 20 years now.... B-)

But then you get the job which just can't be ignored. El Gordo. The BIG ONE. But you need to be VAT registered to tender etc. So you go VAT Reg etc., and then you realise that your sucked into the morass of VAT, TAX, etc etc. You can't avoid it.

But before you start........ bear in mind the following advice:

Determine how much you will need to live on, and make sure that you can make that amount each month, every month. On top of that add another 35% to put back into the business. That figure is your monthly target. Keep it constantly in mind.
Pay yourself a wage. You need to live, and it is very bad practice to use the business chequebook or credit card to pay for household or personal expenses. Its not flash, its cheap.
Create at least a couple of business plans based on your guesstimates. Five would be a good number of business plans to have. Remember to make one of them a worst case scenario.
Build up a cash fund of £x thousand. This is called working capital. Look on it as a "gambling pot", because that is what it is. This figure is what profit you would realise from "trading" for 6 months or so. Keep it at that £x thousand level. Don't let it go down. That will cover emergencies like late payers and sudden VAT/TAX bills, and allow you to graciously retreat when the time comes. Here's the quick calc for you: Working Capital = 6 months salary + 35%, maybe about £20k perhaps. A sum like that will also keep the bank manager happy as it means that his risk is reduced.
Its really not practical to run a business from the kitchen or living room. If you have a small spare room in the house then make it the office / workshop. Do you really need all that workshop / office kit ? You need one PC or a laptop for your financial record keeping, a small laser printer (under £100) for letters & invoices, a copier facility for the occassional document (mutil-function printer/copier/scanner device). You also need a backup device, use an external drive and make sure that you can actually read the documents from the backup drive without having to use other software than the original. I would estimate the basic essential kit should cost no more than £500-£600 + VAT. You also need an office desk and at least one filing cabinet. Total cost about £100. Handbills and flyers can be done on your own PC and printer. Get a professional print shop to produce business cards and compliments slips. Nothing too fancy, and make sure that your telephone number and Googlemail email address is on there. (More reliable than Hotmail etc and accessible everywhere.)
Do you think that the local solicitors office is going to let you in wearing a hoodie, tee-shirt, jeans and scabby trainers ? Spend some money on a suit, spare dress trousers, shirts, ties, and jerseys. Don't go overboard, you want to look like a business professional, not a professional model. Embroidered jerseys with the enterprise name and logo are always a good indicator of commitment to the long run.
KEEP YOUR FINANCIAL RECORDS CONSTANTLY UP TO DATE. Produce invoices when you do the job, or even before then so that it is ready to present for payment. Set aside a half-day or evening every week for financial control and book-keeping. Use an accounts program such as Quick Books to make it easy, if thats too much just use Open Office spreadsheets for purchase ledger and sales ledger. If even this is too daunting a task then do yourself a favour and seek out a jobbing accountant who will keep you right. Choose one who is in a similar position, working from home perhaps, and definitely small enough to provide personal attention, one who will remember your name and what it is that you do. Your accounts program (which you use at least every week...... ) will prepare your trading figures so that your new-found accountant friend won't have too much to do, and therefore won't charge you too much either. £300 / annum is about right for tax returns preparation and submittal etc.
Every week compare the target with the actuals, its a great motivator. Don't be too hard on yourself if you don't hit target, some weeks you'll make nothing, often for weeks at a time perhaps. Then you'll get a really good job & it will all seem worthwhile. Its a bit like playing golf. Every month & every quarter compare targets & actuals AGAIN. This exercise introduces the reality factor. Remember that you will have to speak to your bank manager and present to him the astute business person image. You need to know how it is all going and why. Try to become interested in cashflow and the business plan........ B-)
DO NOT GIVE CREDIT. Ok you can be flexible, but no more than a weeks wage for all of the money due from all of the customers. This may seem a bit hard and unrealistic, but remember it is YOU that is paying the bill for the goods or services supplied. You're just starting up, and you need to build up your business. Giving credit is the opposite of what you are trying to achieve. The supermarket doesn't allow credit for your groceries, so why should you ?
Reputation is EVERYTHING. Word of mouth and recommendation is the best advertising. But keep putting out handbills and flyers and make sure you have a compliments slip and business card to hand out. If you can afford it buy a small economical van or an MPV, as clean as possible, and get professional stick-on signage applied. The van/MPV is a travelling advert, so don't park it at the pub all the time. It's also an ASSET which will DEPRECIATE in value over time. A three-year old van is worth less than half its new price, a six-year old van is worth next to nothing. Buy a diesel model, it's not a race, it's for getting you to your job and back and is a travelling advert. Most vehicles are pretty reliable nowadays, unless they've been thrashed. My favourite is Puegeot 206 vans, then Ford Fiesta vans, and Citroen Xsara Picassa MPVs, which have loads of room and are pretty good on fuel consumption. They also have loads of advertising panel space.......B-)
If there is a free-sheet in your area, then use it. They love filler stories which makes them look like a real newspaper. New business start-ups are always a good read. Other local newspapers are usually quite expensive to advertise in.
Give good quality service. Don't break the LAW. VAT & Income Tax have to be paid, and that's just a matter of correct business practice. They won't cause you to lose sleep and hair. Trading Standards and the Sale of Goods Act will cause involuntary loss of control in your nether regions if you cross them. Do not go there.
BE PROFESSIONAL AT ALL TIMES. Don't badmouth the competition. A professional will take the stand that there is room for everyone. Of course, the best will rise to the surface and survive, the rest will sink. THINK TWICE before you open your gob, remember that what you say can be misconstrued, and it often is. You are your own PR department.

After a year or even two years if you haven't made enough to cover all the bills including tax & vat, & if the gambling pot is less than when you started, then just GET OUT.

Straight away.

Don't hang around and hope that you will trade your way up..... it ain't gonna happen.

You will have had some fun, made a pound or two perhaps, gained a load more knowledge and perhaps a good reputation.

You will also have the knowledge, abilities, skills and perhaps funds to start again, maybe in a different arena of trading.

Good Luck....... B-)

2007-05-28T20:14:00.000+01:00

Rough Trade ?

TRING TRING!! - the phone rings........ "Hello....." and before I can even get what may remotely resemble a business-like salutation out, the voice says "Can you fix the computer 'cos it won't switch on ??"

"Well certainly I can look at it and see what I can do. Whereabout are you? " I reply in best newsreader tones....

"I'll be over in an hour or so" ........ CLUNK......SILENCE......... my customer has gone.

Sometines you can just read a job before they even place the PC on the bench. This one sounds like he's in a hurry so it's likely he's the guilty party or needs the data quickly.

An hour or so passes.

The workshop doorbell / burglar alarm rings. A big bloke with a PC under his arm enters - "I called you earlier, PC wont switch on."

"OK Dokey" says I, "set her over here & I will have a quick look see..."

PC on the bench & apply power lead and switch on. No joy, nothing, not a whisper or light displayed.

So it looks like the power supply unit (aka PSU) has gone. Quickly connect up a PSU and test again - still nothing. Push switch on front again after checking all leads OK and switch at back of PC case is on..... all OK, so should work...... But the front switch just doesnt click correctly, as if it isn't even switching. So take the side off the case and jumper the power switch at the board - Voila! lights & whispering fan indicate life at last.

So the problem must lie between the board & the switch button, so check the switch mechanism. AHA !! the wee switch device is being pushed out of its housing when the power button is depressed. Therefore should be a simple job to glue the switch back in place. So I tell the customer that I'll need to get some time to fix it ( i.e. let the glue dry ) and its only going to be the cost of the replacement PSU. He's happy with that, so I can leave it a wee while. As soon as he trots off I have a closer look at the casing and pull off the front panel. The micro-switch is held in by four lugs on the opposite side of the plastic panel. All of these lugs are broken, and the inner plastic panel is split. So some force required to push the power button perhaps ? I hazard a guess that the PC is set it floor level and the power button is within kicking distance. So user has got into the habit of kicking the PC on and now its broke.

Phones the guy and enquires whether the PC sits at floor level? "Yes it does" he says. So give him the bad news and tell him that fixing the switch will cost more than rebuilding the PC in a new case with replacement PSU. So he's happy with the info & I tell him it will be ready on Sunday if I can get a replacement case delivered next day. ( Yeah I work 7 days a week on PC Repairs )

But the problem is that it is Friday and I can't get a PC case delivered until Monday. So ..... the nearest town has a shop which has cheap PC cases which will do the job in this case. Send the brother over to buy one quickly. When I build a PC I use quality cases with metal which isn't paper thin and will actually look like quality. But this isn't the issue. Its all about how quick I can turn it around in this instance. So come Saturday afternoon after I picked up the el cheapo case I'm on the bench extracting all the components from the broken PC and installing them in to the new case. No problems, works a treat and PC boots up first time. Operating System has the latest upgrade so no need for me to even upgrade any software. Perfecto !!

Give the guy a call and advise him that it's ready for pick up on Sunday afternoon. Fine. Sunday morning I get a call and its " can I come along & pick it up now ?" Yeah, no problem...... I reply....... Good job its been sitting running all yesterday..... So when they arrive ( the wife is with him also) I show him the damaged case and the switch etc, and the PC up & running just fine. "Looks far better..... " she says. Followed by " I don't know why it just stopped working........ but we need the data to fill in the tax return......" Well I bit my lip and kept my comment to myself. Gave her the invoice and accepted the cheque, with thanks.

But I'll share my thoughts with you, my friends...... " if numbnuts there hadn't been so lazy and actually got into the habit of bending down to switch on the PC then he would have saved the cost of the rebuild, case & PSU...... "

Human nature never ceases to amaze me.

2007-05-28T20:13:00.000+01:00

PROGRESS ??

Whether we like it or not, the computer industry is constantly changing.
("WE" being people involved within the "industry")

The punters only see the high street operations. The local computer shops are usually "entrepreneurs" who think that they can turn a pound competing against the big boys. They can't, and won't survive on sales of PCs & kit. I was in town yesterday and even Woolworths was selling the old TINY stock..... The local papershop sell mice and other low-cost accessories. It's all about retailing now, not about technical ability & knowledge. Any spud can do this, stock in and stock out stuff. The logic is "Lets try to clear 10points on it and the fruit & veg will keep us solvent......" Yeah, right....... even TESCO is selling PCs and laptops and making a good job of moving boxes. Not so hot on the aftersales & repairs though.

The other end of the "industry" is the corporate stuff, big wodges of moolah for reasonable brand name kit. Lots of capital expenditure establishing the deal and then lots of dosh spent furnishing the account. Lengthy dialogue from people who can't even establish proper security or disaster contingency.Pain in the posterior in general. It's all about how far you can go before you lose your shirt along with your integrity, dignity, and other things.

No wonder the small guys are being decimated with the supermarkets moving in. Now even the big guys are struggling to compete. The light at the end of the tunnel is services, services and services. That TESCO sourced PC needs to be configured & Joe User is too stoopid/doesn't have the time or ability, etc etc.

So STEP ON UP THERE - there's a job that we can do...... "and that'll be my usual consideration per hour if you don't mind. No we don't sell peas madam........."

2007-05-28T20:08:00.000+01:00

PDAS – PALM TX – TXCLNT!

I’ve used a PDA for a few years, since I was given an HP iPaq and Sat Nav module from a friend who had upgraded his company supplied kit. The iPaq was fine, but it was slow and I really didn’t need a machine to tell me where I already knew to go. Admittedly it is a large area which I cover, but I do know most places within it.

However, when I had the option to buy a PDA for my own personal use I opted for a PALM T3 as I had worked out all I really require is a diary and alarm facility and storage for notes etc. The T3 did it all. As well as the base facilities I upgraded it later with a wireless SD card which would offer an email and web browser facility. Big deal. Didn’t work. Too hard on batteries. PDA lost data when battery runs down.

However, after a successful trading period and a pricing mistake by the distributor, I am the proud owner of a Palm TX, which has wireless built-in, and also doesn’t lose the data when the battery runs down. I have a couple of SD cards with which to store my data on, and regularly synchronise with the laptop which is my main PC. The email client is set to use any wireless signal it finds and pick up mail from my main email account. I can then read the mail and take the option to reply.

Another REALLY USEFUL facility is wireless network testing. Scenario: I'm at the clients location and the wireless network isn't working. Run the wireless connx with the Palm TX, if connx made then wireless is OK & PC config is the issue, if connx not made then wireless is not OK.

The good thing is that the wireless facility is only connected for a minute or so and then drops the connection automatically. I have the Pocket Tunes music player which comes with the TX, and I have my music on a 2Gb SD card. I also have the Agendus software installed which is better then the supplied diary and it helps me manage contacts, tasks, diary, etc etc. I’d be lost without it I suppose.

2007-05-28T20:06:00.000+01:00

ON THE ROAD – FOR HOW LONG ?

Does the ever-increasing rise in road fuel prices signal an end to traditional “home visit” technical support ? Traditionally, whenever a support call comes into the workshop, the PC Man would jump into his sign-plastered wee van and run on over to the location and do an on-site diagnosis. Fix it if possible – “ you can’t dial out because your modem lead is unplugged” or even worse, but more profitable - “ It looks like the doohickey is not interfacing with the whotsit and needs to be repaired / replaced / re-configured. It’s a workshop job I’m afraid….” ( look suitably glum at this point ).

I used to travel a lot, very often over 100+ miles a day, and this was never a problem. The tweaked-performance van was a joy to drive, diesel was cheap, and the scenery was excellent most of the time. But nowadays even that option isn’t viable as road fuel becomes more expensive and the home visit is more of a rarity. Of course you could factor in the cost into the work, but quickly find out that the work dries up. Best strategy to employ is to offer the alternative - explain that all work is cheaper if delivered to the workshop, and that the “road trip” is a chargeable service. Of course I still deliver and install new systems, just to ensure that they are working correctly and its also a “customer connection” opportunity. I often get other business purely because of this service.

Over course this scenario only really applies to the rural enterprise. However, in the towns there is the question of safety and security for personnel and vehicle. There are some places locally where even I don’t like leaving the vehicle, or entering certain premises. One of my colleagues keeps a aluminium baseball bat in the back of his vehicle, in the window, where it can be seen. He says it’s a deterrent. Seems to work.

MAY 2007 UDATE - no improvement - fuel prices still too high & rising. Resolution is to charge for any trip out of the workshop.

2007-05-28T20:02:00.000+01:00

Home Office Network Management Software

I have several PCs here in the workshop (of course, don't we all?) and used the standard but tedious method of managing them, via Windows & Linux system software. However there is at least one home/office network management application available which will cut all the hassle of configuration & constant diagnostics. PURE NETWORKS have a product called NETWORK MAGIC which elegantly does all the stuff for you. Available on a 30-day trial and also cheap to buy ( $39 USD or about £19 UKP ), once installed on your PCs it will scan and detect other devices, share files and printers simply, protect from wireless intruders, repair wireless connections, monitor your network activity, and also allow remote access. I've used all of these facilities apart from remote access succesfully. To be honest I didn't have the time to configure the remote access feature and don't think that I need it as I use Google Docs as my "bridge" between office and onsite work. Other users state that they have been able to access folders on their home PCs and also use a webcam as a monitoring device. My personal experience is that it saves me loads of time diagnosing what could be amiss with the network configuration.

In my small enterprise I have to set up small networks pretty frequently. Not big ones, just a couple of users, sometimes 4 or 5, with a couple of shared printers, and a shared hard drive, and accessing the net via a router, wired & wireless. No hassle, it's easy for those who have done it numerous times. However, I appreciate any software which makes the process easier for me to setup, maintain & troubleshoot. Human nature being what it is I often find that the network I carefully setup has been modified by Joe User, and now it doesn't work correctly at all. In situations like this I use NETWORK MAGIC to let me view the setup and fix the issues. It has a good interface and clearly shows the linked devices in the workgroup. It also shows any network faults and suggests how to fix them. It's a time-saver, and as such is invaluable. This software has been so stable & useful that I now install it on the office networks I install. If the system manager (a.k.a. the p.a.) doesn't save time configuring the network then they're not using it properly/haven't RTFM. An alternative product is Homenet Manager from SingleClick Systems and it seems to do pretty much the same thing, apart from remote access. NETWORK MAGIC is also Apple MAC compatible, and of course allows MACs and PCs to be shared on the same network.
Websites : www.networkmagic.com and www.homenetmanager.com

2007-05-28T20:01:00.000+01:00

LINUX IMPLEMENTATION – PLANNING THE BUILD

I’ve used Linux for some years, not cutting edge, just enough to be usable, surf the web, send annoying emails and generally keep up to speed with the latest in that arena. This year however Linux is coming of age. Maybe the Windows Genuine Advantage fiasco has forced the users to re-examine the situation. The fact is that there are many mainstream applications and facilities for Linux which exceed the Windows platform. And secure. And no annoyances. Apache, MySQL, PHP, Open Office, Firefox, Opera, NVU, The Gimp, Evolution etc. All except Evolution are open source and cross platform, and I use them on the Windows boxes as well.

In my compact workshop there are currently two Linux boxes – the oldest being Xandros on a Tiny PC which was “rescued” last year, this replaced my original and ancient Linuxbox which had seen Suse 7 & 8, Corel Linux, PC Linux, Mandrakes, Slax, DSL, Puppy and a couple more tried and tested. My other Linuxbox is a MaxData “Slim desktop” PC which was on offer from my distributor at a ridiculously cheap price. I snapped it up, with a “clearance” 17” TFT VDU. On this box I have UBUNTU 6.06 LTS. It’s small, not much bigger than a lever-arch file, and has 512Mb RAM onboard, integrated audio & video, 80Gb HDD, DVDRW and a multi-card reader / floppy drive. Its cool. Easy to setup, not too demanding on the complex stuff such as file & folder sharing and even has the abilty to print to my Samsung laser hosted on the other linuxbox.

Ubuntu has other “flavours” which make it more Windows like ( Kubuntu ), easier to run on older hardware ( Xubuntu ) and even an educational version ( Edubuntu ). These all share the same core system and provide a common platform for other open source software. The beauty is of course that a huge library of free software is available, and can be freely updated automatically using the Synaptic facility in the operating system.

So now its time to sit back and plan again, look at the whole picture and decide that there was a lack of strategy in the implementation of the workshop hardware, and consider a “great rebuild” so that it all works better. This only happens once every five years or so. Last time I produced a network map diagram and promptly stopped. The Windows days are drawing to a close. This time the workhorses for file storage and printer hosting are going to be the Linux machines. Maybe I’ll wipe Xandros and install Ubuntu Server and create a web server for some new projects I want to look at. Online SQL database with remote users access - worldwide. A content management system to allow the user control of his website instead of the web-designer. An accounting application which is simple to use and very user-friendly, and also looks good.

At this stage then there is only one thing to do – get the big sheets of paper out and start drawing the structure. If I can visualise it, I can make it work.

MAY 2007 UPDATE - I've just spent the last week doing the latest "FIESTY FAWN" UBUNTU upgrade to the wee box and the HP Laptop. Needless to say both worked perfectly without a hitch. I also installed the BERYL utility which gives fancy desktop features, animated menus and such, eye-candy like what VISTA has but better...... B-)

2007-05-28T19:53:00.000+01:00

LIGHTNING STIKES – THANK YOU MICHAEL DELL

Most users will be at some time affected by a power surge due to lightning striking the telephone line or the electrical supply. In some instances that can mean the replacement of the newly-fried modem, which acts as a fuse and blows, or even worse, the replacement of the computer, when the modem was fried and other components as well, i.e. PSU, motherboard, CPU, graphics card. The safeguard solution is to unplug the modem from the line, and also switch off the PC when it is not being used. Yeah. Who does that ? No, not me, I’m full-time wired and too lazy to unplug.

So whats to do ? Modem fried scenario ? First of all test with the modem diagnostics tool in Control Panel / Modems ( assuming your running Windows, and at this stage even if you can run Windows your lucky ). If the diagnostics doesn’t work then its switch off and UNPLUG the PC and get under the hood. Remove and look at the modem, specifically the chip with the manufacturers name on it. There may be a small mark on it which indicates the ceramic is blown – it looks like a wee chip has been gouged out. Just replace the modem, its cheap and expendable. I don’t give modem warranties any more, lightning strike is an “act of God” according to the insurance companies.

More serious damage ? i.e. the PC won’t boot up at all ? Remove the modem and try to reboot again – you may be lucky…… If not, ie it doesn’t reboot, then remove the case PSU and test with another known-to-be-working PSU. Once again, you’re lucky if it sparks up to life at this stage. If there are no signs of life then its “Sayonara PC!!”

You now have at least two options. Option 1 is to rescue the existing un-fried components, typically the RAM, optical drive, and hard drive will be unaffected. If the case PSU is blown then it is likely the front switch may be duff as well. Easier and less hassle to replace the case and PSU, and add new motherboard, CPU & Fan, modem etc into the new built PC with the original HDD, Optical, RAM and any other surviving components. However, this may be a costly exercise depending on the new components which you choose i.e. latest motherboard, super-duper SLI video card, some more ram, near-the-top-of-the-range-CPU & FAN, sexy-looking case, additional optical etc. Also, you need to be fairly familiar and competent building PCs. Yeah, I know, anyone can do it with a basic toolkit such as a screwdriver or even a kitchen knife. So why are there loads of PC Repairs shops ? Think about it. The average human is klutz around electronics.

So therefore consider Option 2 : Replace the PC with a barebones brand-name system. Depending on the vendor, most web shops do “barebones” PCs at budget prices. These are configured with “matching components” which will work together i.e. a mboard / cpu / ram configuration. Just insert the surviving components (correctly) and power up. You’ll have to re-register Windows again as the original installed hardware has changed. This is easy to do by telephone if a little time consuming ( and the offshore-based Microsoft helpdesk are excellent and very patient indeed !) YOU WILL NEED YOUR WINDOWS XP PRODUCT KEY FROM THE LABEL ON THE ORIGINAL CASE.

If you have searched the web for barebones systems you may well be attracted to a completely new full PC system. Once again it is easy to pick up a budget brand-name box with cpu & fan, ram, video card, optical drive, hdd, and operating system, which is usually pre-installed and only requires activation. Voila! You have a new PC and all is sweetness and light yet again. However, what are you going to do with the old kit? Especially the hard drive which contained all of your precious data? Once again the simple solution is to source a cheap 3.5” USB external drive kit which will accept the old drive and enable you to connect it to the new PC and transfer data from it. You can then use it as an external backup medium and sleep easier knowing that the precious data is safe.

At this stage you will value the strategy of keeping your data in a single folder such as My Documents, or better still on a data CD or DVD. And you did export your web favourites and email address book and messages? Yeah of course you did….. NOT! Two applications which you will now appreciate – Genie Backup Manager v4 is free and will backup data, folders, email identities with address books and messages into a self-extracting zip file which can reduce the stress of manually recovering everything. COBIAN BACKUP 8 will also backup data files and folders and like Genie can be auto-scheduled. I like Cobian. Its much faster than Genie but doesn’t do the email account backup unless you specify the precise identity to backup. ( a bit more complex this as it means copying hidden folders etc).

Oh yeah! - nearly forgot - where does Michael Dell fit into the above experience? The last electrical storm we had produced about a half dozen fried PCs. Four of these were Dell PCs; the other two were e-Machines PCs. You’ll note that these are “budget” products, with a high-level of component integration. None were modem replacements. Two were kit rebuilds with new boards, cpus, video cards & cases. These had big SATA hard drives and expensive video cards, so the rebuild was also expensive due to matching the kit to the cards. The other four were complete replacement PCs. Two of these replacements also bought 19” TFT monitors to match the new PC. Out of the fried kit I managed to cobble together two working PCs with reasonable specification. Also, by purchasing the afore-mentioned external hard drive enclosures I now have two more backup units. The old saying is very true in this instance, “It’s an ill wind that blows no good to someone”

2007-05-28T19:52:00.000+01:00

THE DOWNWARD TREND – WHY PCS ARE GETTING CHEAPER

Recently i.e. this year, PCs are getting cheaper. By a HUGE margin. When I started out long ago there was a price point which the customer saw as acceptable. They could afford it. Tax was added to the price point, but then component prices dropped so that tax was included in the price point. Then prices dropped again so that different configurations could be offered as options above the price point. Then they were offered within the price point. Next was the budget, office and power user categories. The PCs were roughly the same, just priced differently.

The common denominator was that these were basically good quality PCs, capable of lasting the course. I’m proud to say that I have seen PCs I built seven years ago which were still in use. A bit slow, covered in “stour” ( dust ) but still working. But currently the scenario is that there are entry-level PCs which feature integrated components and offer the customer an even lower price point. A THIRD of the original price point !! Add a 17” TFT for a wee bit more and you have a reasonable system. Perhaps not a game star, but capable of the usual domestic usage, web surfing, emails, some letter writing and perhaps even academic research. These budget machines typically have built-in video and audio, fast LAN connection, multiple USB ports, and even multi-port card readers, all integrated into the main board. These would be unacceptable a few years ago, however the goalposts have moved. The new common denominator is that the users expectations have fallen into line with the lower level of technology being delivered. As an example, look at laptops currently on offer. They are all between 1.4Gh and 1.7Ghz, decent graphics performance, 512Mb RAM option, SATA drive as standard, DVDRW usually supplied, and almost all have Windows XP provided as well. But a couple of years ago we were looking at supplying laptops with 2.4Ghz CPUs and upwards.

So what happened to the “faster” option ? Well, technology is forever a flexible animal and the new-ish mobile chipsets provide faster performance at lower chip rates. More bang for buck. The best enhancement to any PC or laptop is by adding RAM. A half-gig of ram makes it sing. Double that up to one Gigabyte of DDR and or really whizzing along. New laptop motherboards can accept additional SODIMM upgrades, and I recently supplied an Acer Aspire 3266WLMi with 1Gb RAM so that it will play DVDs using a wireless projector over PA system in an auditorium. It worked like a dream!! Extremely impressive performance..

Why is it all getting cheaper ? Well I am of the opinion that we have to thank Michael Dell yet again. The big boys are undercutting everyone and making it impossible to sell entry-level kit. But that’s not a bad thing. The entry-level stuff is usually duff or obsolete in a very short time, and usually requires fixing at some stage. As long as it is passed the warranty period then no worries. So there are opportunities to compete, but not with similar products.

May 2007 update - good quality PCs and laptops now being sold by TESCO! What is the world coming to FFS ? Do Your Shopping And Save A Bundle On A New PC Or Laptop ! (.... "Save A Bundle" was the title of a series of computer books by Aubrey Pilgrim). So? So What ! - DIVERSIFY - it's not the end of the world!

2007-05-28T19:44:00.000+01:00

As I sit here, surrounded by kit, I'm reminded that it's time to prepare for the taxman once again. Lets get the books to the accountant on time this year...... Lets check the inventory and see how much "we" ( aka me, set to impulse-buying mode) bought this year in a vain attempt to resell it because "we" thought that it was cool.

Well, there are far too many PCs for a start. And laptops....... and why is there a box of media card readers which look like Barbie doll accessories ??? and webcams..... and USB data pens..... and USB hubs..... and VOIP phones which only work with SKYPE.......

Well the truth of the matter is that as a "trader" you accumulate stuff during the run of the game. And the accumulation loses value the longer it is on the shelf. So lets cut our losses. Lets build it into our own workshop kit requirements. As good an excuse as any. The obvious problem is that the kit then becomes an "asset" instead of "stock for resale".

So I have a TV Tuner that "enhances" the sale of the display kit. And a widescreen TV which doubles as a monitor. And a couple of colour photo printers. And a colour laser printer for doing catalogues etc. And a multi-function printer/scanner/copier which is arguably the most useful kit I ever bought ( Canon MP370 ). There are a couple of beautiful cases which only I thought were leading edge. Everyone else says that they're ugly.

And then there's the work in progress, 3 systems which I hope someone will take a shine to this week. And a laptop and printer "deal" which is being transported around the country to a prospective buyer. And so it goes.

So what did it all cost ? Far too much, is the only reasonable response. Its all been relegated to last years accounts. Therefore it has now no value at all. Cheapskate strategy for accumulating kit. But it provides what I intended it to be, a suitable workshop for the Journeyman Geek.

2007-05-28T19:40:00.001+01:00

OKAAAYY - looks like I'm finding time to update this every 6 months or so.... 'sfine by me.... not too rushed.... no pressure......

I'll get some new updates done and post them asap.......

2007-03-14T17:40:00.000Z

Belt & Braces Backups.

Every so often I'll get someone wander into the workshop with a dead PC. "Can you fix this ?" they'll say. "What's wrong with it ?" I'll reply. Then we get the tale of woe. "It was working OK but it isn't working now. And I need the files I was working on for my homework / job / university dissertation / e-bay transactions / email replies / impending court case..... " You get the idea ? It's always important and it's always lost. Gone, No more, vanished, disappeared, irretreivable. Sometimes the punter can't even remember what they were doing before the data was lost and don't even know what file which the data they so urgently need was held in.
So I shake my head in despair ( I'm not the symathetic type ) and then brighten up and tell them "No problem at all, just need your backup files and I'll be around an hour or two if you're lucky. You do have back up files ? ..... " Silence. Momentarily. "Aye well, I thought that I had backed it up but I haven't" or even better " The backed up data is on the hard drive - You'll be able to get it from there....."

Well, then I start with the sharp intake of breath...... "Oh dear, oh dear oh dear...... Well I'll try to recover what I can but if the drive is unreadable then theres no hope, and no point in me trying to build your hopes up. Prepare for the worst." Now to be truthful most of the time the data isnt lost, its just Windows playing at silly burgers and I have a couple of bootable CD tools which will rectify the problem. Most of the time. But if the CD Tools doesn't even see the hard drive then we are looking at new drive, and restore from System CDs and then install applications and test internet access and load anti virus utilities and spyware protection, and only then, after a rigorous testing from myself, will I release it back to the user. Of course the cure costs time, which equates to money, and althogh I enjoy doing teh work I don't want to be doing it every spare minute of the day. I'd rather be demonstrating how the kit works and how to do secure & safe backups etc.

A friend of mine was a local doctor and he introduced me to the concept of "belt & braces backup", which means creating a secondary contingency fallback, to be sure, to be sure. We used at that time removable Jaz drives and rotated each one on a daily basis. Fine, no problems. Software used was Ghost, before Symantec bought over Norton. Only difficulty was if a restore/recovery had to be done, the PC had to be loaded with Windows again and the Ghost software and the image copied to hard drive and then restored form there, because the Ghost software had some difficulty with the Jaz drives. Then we updated to removable hard drives in 3.5" caddies. Even better, as no faffing around with software, just load the boot floppy and run the restore option. Now we use USB removable drives. These are simply 2.5" notebook hard drives in a USB 2.0 or Firewire interface casing which are pretty cheap i.e. around £60 all in. The speed of backup and restore is fantastic with USB2/1394, not so hot with USB1.1. And so reliable that I'm even considering storing all of the common laptop builds which I do on a USB drive so that I can complete the process even faster...... we're talking less than 10 minutes here for a standard image.

Finally, my daughters laptop hard drive died after months of continous running. I had advised her to set the laptop in hibernation mode, but it didn't happen for some reason. As the kit was bought in New Zealand & was still in warranty, it should have been a direct warranty replacement. But I'm not sending it half way across the globe to do something I can do myself and quicker. So I purchased a new and bigger 80Gb HDD and set it up. Remove battery, pull plastic tag, unscrew hdd, insert new hdd, push into hdd slot, replace battery, boot up laptop. Yeah, as easy as that. I had made a Drive Image when she came home a couple of months ago, so it was no problem to restore that from DVD using boot floppy. But now what about the data ? Well she uses HOTMAIL as her mail client so all the contacts are there. And her music and pictures from a year in New Zealand ? Well I had thought that they were lost, but she had them on DVD and also stored in her i-River MP3 player. So the belt and braces technique worked after all. But only as the data storage was essentially offline, i.e. it wasnt stored on the HDD.

So some advice my friends, go get yourself a USB case and notebook drive, stick them into your PC and make sure you've got your vital data OFF THE HDD. Remember to cc your emails to a web-based email system - USE GOOGLEMAIL and GOOGLE DOCS & SHEETS!!.
And don't trust the hardware, it WILL FAIL.
I'd better go on and do my own backup now before I'm a victim of my own bullshittery.......

Welcome!

2007-03-14T17:09:00.000Z

Hi there !!
Well here we are at last, doing a WEBLOG, when I can hardly maintain a DIARY......
So, . . . it's just an outlet for my rambling observations on the tube fest of life....
THAT'S ME.... on the top right, by the way...........
The posts on this blog are in no order, just as random as I am. Some posts will be techie tales/stuff, others will be rants at the world in general. My opinions,as always,are my own.
What Happened When..... well, really this isnt new, its been on the go since a couple of years, maybe 2k4, and certainly 2k5, but was only published on Operas' weblog facility. I haven't been too good at keeping it updated, and I won't be improving on that either.
It's just me, some stuff about what I do, what I observe, what I can help with.
Have a read thru this stuff, leave a comment if you wish.