The Following are News items that affect the computing industry, the local area and Tapcast:
*We are keeping this as an archive of the passing days, months and years. It is in reverse date order:
23/03/08 Football legend Sir Bobby Robson is coming to Inkberrow
Inkberrow FC are raising money to get more pitches for the club. As part of these activities, Sir Bobby Robson will be coming to Inkberrow on Wednesday April 23rd 2008.
At 3:00pm Sir Bobby will be at the Village playing fields for coaching session.
See Bulletin 30 on the Inkberrow FC Website
05/02/08 WINDOWS XP SERVICE PACK 3
Microsoft have released Windows Vista a year ago. However, to support existing users Microsoft will shortly be releasing a Windows XP update called Service Pack 3.
What Microsoft say about SP3 - What Is In Service Pack 3?
Windows XP SP3 includes all previously released Windows XP updates, including security updates and hotfixes, and select out-of-band releases. For example, the service pack includes functionality previously released as updates, such as the Microsoft® Management Console (MMC) 3.0 and the Microsoft Core XML Services 6.0 (MSXML6).
Microsoft is not adding significant functionality from newer versions of Windows, such as Windows Vista, to Windows XP through XP SP3. For instance, Windows XP SP3 does not include Windows Internet Explorer 7, although Windows XP SP3 does include updates to both Internet Explorer 6 and Internet Explorer 7, and it will update whichever version is installed on the computer. One notable exception is that, SP3 does include Network Access Protection (NAP) to help organizations that use Windows XP to take advantage of new features in the Windows Server® 2008 operating system.
But what does it means for Tapcast customers?
Microsoft have issued an update which improves security and prepare computers to integrate with Windows Vista PCs.
03/10/2007 BERROW FELLOWS FINISH THE MONGOL RALLY
Team Berrow Fellows arrived in Ullan Baatar after 29 days on the road. Over £7000 was raised for Cancer Research UK and other charities.
The trusty Fiesta was auctioned in Mongolia with the money going to Mongolian charity work.
15/06/07 MONGOL RALLY 2007
Steve Neal from Tapcast is taking part in the Mongol Rally 2007 with co-driver Richard Hill.
We have helped organise a Coffee Morning in Inkberrow and a disco at the PEC behind the church. In July we will be guest barmen at the Red Hart.
Currently we have raised about £2900, but we are aiming for over £5000 to help 3 different charities:
- Mercy Corp Mongolia
- Send a Cow
- Cancer Research UK
What are the rules for the Mongol Rally 2007?:
- Get a car less than 1000cc and drive from London to Mongolia
- No support crew, make all your own arrangements
- Raise over £5000 for charity
To follow the Berrow Fellows progress and support our charities see www.berrowfellows.co.uk
There has been an article in the Redditch Advertiser about the trip, click here
20/05/07 TAPCAST ARE LINKSYS VOICE SYSTEM ACCREDITED
Tapcast have passed all of the requirements for Linksys Voice System Accreditation. We are now able to supply and install VoIP telephone systems.
10/03/07 Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Tapcast have achieved Microsoft Small Business Specialist 2007 Accreditation. This is an annual accredation which Tapcast received for the first time in 2006 - we were in the first 300 reseller's within the country to get this Microsoft recognition.
This puts Tapcast in a great position to help Small to Medium Companies that are looking for a company wide solution to security, email and document control etc using Microsoft Small Business Server.
30/01/07 Microsoft Windows Vista
Microsoft have now released a new operating system called Windows Vista which is an update to Windows XP. Vista was known by its codename Longhorn.
Bill Gates hosted the worldwide launch of Windows Vista and Microsoft Office 2007 in Times Square on January 29, 2007. Vista ships in nine different versions that fall under the main categories of home edition and business edition.
The most noticeable change from Windows XP to Vista is a significantly redesigned user interface called Aero, which stands for authentic, energetic, reflective and open. The new interface is intended to be cleaner and more aesthetically pleasing than those of previous Windows, including new transparencies, live thumbnails, live icons,
Microsoft has also identified several underlying technology improvements that distinguish Vista, including:
- Enhancements to the basic structure of the operating system
- A new audio system.
- A simplified application deployment engine and application installer
- Increased support for digital rights management (DRM)
- Improved interaction with web services
- Improved networking capabilities.
- New security initiatives
- A faster and customizable search engine
- Windows Sidebar: A transparent panel anchored to the side of the screen where a user can place desktop gadgets
To read more about Vista see the latest on the Microsoft website
15/11/06 computing which? asks "can you fix it?"
Which? have just undertaken a survey of independents repairers’ vs. 'the big boys'.
On their website Computing Which? say:
"Our experts introduced simple faults to PCs and took them to seven branches of PC World and 13 independents.
Prices to fix a loose cable ranged from £10 to £139 and researchers were charged from £20 to £260 to fix a simple software problem.
PC World, which is the only big chain to repair PCs it hasn't sold, performed particularly badly.
At one store, after misdiagnosing the simple software problem, Computing Which? researchers were told a repair would cost £350 and were advised to buy a completely new computer."
For the full article, please click here.
11/10/06 inkberrow football club website up and running
The new Inkberrow Football club website, created by Tapcast Limited, is now operational. This will be a great boost to all the enthusiastic young football players in the village.
Click here to view the website.
15/08/06 War Driving
War Driving is the term used to describe hackers driving through a neighbourhood with a wireless-enabled laptop and mapping houses and businesses that have wireless access points.
Once connected to an unencrypted network, the War Driver can use the victim’s Internet access as well as explore other computers on that network. More worryingly, a War Driver can sniff network traffic and view such information as passwords and credit card numbers sent over the Internet – even SSL secured data.
If you have any concerns about war driving and whether your network is secure, please contact us.
11/07/06 Microsoft no longer supports windows 98 / ME
Microsoft is urging an estimated 70 million users of Windows 98 to upgrade as it ends support for the software.
From 11 July, Microsoft will no longer help users over the phone with any problems they have with the ageing operating system.
The firm will also stop providing security updates for Windows 98 from the same date.
Products affected by closing down the support system include Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, and Windows Me (Millennium Edition). Analyst firm IDC believes that more than 70 million users will be hit by the change.
Support for the software was originally due to end in 2003, but was extended following customer protests.
It urged users to upgrade to a more secure operating system, such as Windows XP, as soon as possible.
This could mean buying a new PC for those running a machine bought eight years ago with Windows 98 pre-installed. This is because the hardware specifications for Windows 98 fall far short of the minimum required to run Windows XP.
It may also mean they have to replace or update any peripherals they use with that ageing machine.
If anybody has any concerns about this announcement please contact us.
Tapcast can upgrade your computer to Windows XP providing hardware requirements are met, or if you are interested in purchasing a new machine with Windows XP please contact us for a quote and advise.
19/06/06 windows xp sp1 support to end in september
Microsoft will stop supporting security fixes for Windows XP SP1 in September, it is advised that all customers upgrade to Service Pack 2 before then.
To find out what version of Microsoft Windows XP you are running please follow the instructions below:
Click Start > Control Panel > System (If you do not see System listed then click "Switch to Classic View").
You will then be presented with your system information, click here for an example.
If you see "Service Pack 2" listed under System then you are fully up-to-date. If you see "Service Pack 1" or no Service pack information at all then you need to upgrade.
For more information on Windows XP Service Pack 2 please visit the Microsoft SP2 website at http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/sp2/default.mspx
You can update via Windows Update or alternatively contact us to book an upgrade.
25/05/06 10,000 silver surfers flood onto the web
This week 10,000 older people will switch on a PC and surf the internet for the first times as part of Silver Surfer Week.
The aim of the initiative - organised by Age Concern - is to narrow the yawning digital divide between young and old.
All week, older people have been attending events and workshops across the country to help them discover the internet. Microsoft for example has had a bus touring the south coast resorts favoured by older people, offering technology taster sessions in towns including Bournemouth and Bognor Regis.
20/04/06 Microsoft Windows 98/ME Support to end in July
Microsoft has begun officially requesting that any users running Windows 98, 98SE and Millenium Edition (Me) upgrade their operating system as soon as possible. Microsoft will cease all public and technical support for the products on July 11th 2006 including all patches and security updates.
Microsoft will continue to provide Windows 98 and Me help topics through its Web site until at least July 11, 2007. However, without additional security updates, customers will be left unprotected from potential vulnerabilities.
If anybody has any concerns about this annoucement please contact us.
05/03/06 Google earth
If you have not yet discovered it, Google Earth is a 3D mapping interface to the entire planet. It allows you to move around the world, to any location, and view it from space, and closer.
To download Google Earth for free please visit here.
08/02/06 Picasa
Picasa is software that helps you instantly find, edit and share all the pictures on your PC. Every time you open Picasa, it automatically locates all your pictures (even ones you forgot you had) and sorts them into visual albums organised by date with folder names you will recognise. You can drag and drop to arrange your albums and make labels to create new groups. Picasa makes sure your pictures are always organised.
To download Picasa for free please visit here.
09/01/06 What's so good about broadband?
Broadband's big advantage is you're always connected to the internet, so you don't have to dial the number of your internet service provider every time you want to surf the web. You pay a flat rate monthly subscription which buys you as much time as you like online (often from as little as £14.99), unlike dial-up internet access where you're usually charged by the minute.
The other main advantage of broadband is its speed, you can get speeds of around 512Kbit (nearly 10 times as fast as 56Kbps dialup) to 8Mbit (around 140 times faster than 56kbps dialup)
You can also use the phone while you are connected to the internet, whereas dialup engages the line.
Please click here to see news articles before 2006.
*If you have any interesting news items, please give Tapcast a call.