Reading some of the recent technology news, I came across an article regarding Microsoft's OneDrive cloud storage system and how they are going to be changing it to make life simpler for users. This prompted me to think about my use of OneDrive here at Convallis.
I actually use OneDrive more than I thought, backing up things like photos, saving documents such as my car insurance documents that I may need elsewhere. I also use it to for business to back up certain documents or photos, plus I share files/documents with one of my customers as they allow me access to share certain files.
The article mentioned that some people have had a problem with reliability with OneDrive, well for me I have never had an issue, but the great thing about what Microsoft are doing is that there will be a single sync engine for both business and consumer use, this will certainly make life a lot easier.
Whatever cloud storage system you use, be it OneDrive, Dropbox or any of the others available I'm sure you will agree that the more user-friendly it is the better it will be for us all and there will be less complaints!
Based in Devon, offering a range of IT services and products. Specialists in online and offline database development, CRM applications, Microsoft cloud solutions and web.
Wednesday, 14 January 2015
Tuesday, 9 December 2014
UK Broadband still patchy - of course it is!
I've just been reading this article on the BBC news website outlining the gap between the fastest and slowest broadband speeds in the UK.
The results come as no surprise to me, as having a business based in rural North Devon our office is at the end of the line and doesn't have the best speed, but I do know that it is faster than some neighbouring villages/properties. As broadband speed is so bad here I know of many people that have gone down the satellite broadband route just to get any form of decent bandwidth.
I don't expect that if/when we get fibre broadband to our exchange that it will make much difference, we are probably still too far from the exchange to make any difference.
Here's a speed test that I have done this morning - 9th December 2014
As you can see from the results, the download speed is is certainly a lot less than the average reported of 23 Mbps (Mega bits per second), and even for a business it is less than an average typical household requirement of 10 Mbps. With more and more official documentation having to be logged online nowadays it is imperative that all should have access to a decent broadband service.
Even though things are supposed to be improving there will always be some of us that will not get as good as service as others, just because we choose to live and work in a rural location we should not have to miss out on better broadband speeds or have to pay an additional cost to a satellite provider if we don't want to.
The results come as no surprise to me, as having a business based in rural North Devon our office is at the end of the line and doesn't have the best speed, but I do know that it is faster than some neighbouring villages/properties. As broadband speed is so bad here I know of many people that have gone down the satellite broadband route just to get any form of decent bandwidth.
I don't expect that if/when we get fibre broadband to our exchange that it will make much difference, we are probably still too far from the exchange to make any difference.
Here's a speed test that I have done this morning - 9th December 2014
As you can see from the results, the download speed is is certainly a lot less than the average reported of 23 Mbps (Mega bits per second), and even for a business it is less than an average typical household requirement of 10 Mbps. With more and more official documentation having to be logged online nowadays it is imperative that all should have access to a decent broadband service.
Even though things are supposed to be improving there will always be some of us that will not get as good as service as others, just because we choose to live and work in a rural location we should not have to miss out on better broadband speeds or have to pay an additional cost to a satellite provider if we don't want to.
Tuesday, 28 October 2014
Windows Server 2003 - End of support July 2015
Are you currently using Windows Server 2003? It has been announced that support and upgrades will end on 14th July 2015 - this might seem like a long time away but it isn't. Start thinking about what you would like to do in your business NOW!
The following video will explain more:
If you're unsure of how you would like to go forward we offer consultancy services to help you make the right decision for your business.
The following video will explain more:
If you're unsure of how you would like to go forward we offer consultancy services to help you make the right decision for your business.
Friday, 5 September 2014
Celebrity Leaks from iCloud - is the cloud secure?
Further to recent reports in the press of the leaking of personal photos and videos from the iCloud service this has prompted me to think of a few things regarding security and the type of information that was leaked.
First though, I have just seen a news article stating that Apple will be tightening security after the recent leaks, but is this too little too late?
I don't personally use iCloud, the cloud services I use are Microsoft services which includes the OneDrive cloud storage solution so I am writing from the perspective of a non-user of the service that was affected and these opinions are all my own. I use my OneDrive as a back up of my photos and documents, but after reading about the content of some of the pictures etc that were leaked I don't feel that is the appropriate type of material to be storing in a cloud environment.
Reading the article it wasn't the security that was breached but passwords were guessed or the accounts were hacked into via phishing. This is an ideal time to remind you to ensure your passwords are very strong, don't use things like your date/place of birth or your name and don't click on any suspicious attachments in any emails you receive.
Cloud services are secure I've been using them for a while now personally and for work, it's down to users to ensure that they do the best they can to protect their accounts.
First though, I have just seen a news article stating that Apple will be tightening security after the recent leaks, but is this too little too late?
I don't personally use iCloud, the cloud services I use are Microsoft services which includes the OneDrive cloud storage solution so I am writing from the perspective of a non-user of the service that was affected and these opinions are all my own. I use my OneDrive as a back up of my photos and documents, but after reading about the content of some of the pictures etc that were leaked I don't feel that is the appropriate type of material to be storing in a cloud environment.
Reading the article it wasn't the security that was breached but passwords were guessed or the accounts were hacked into via phishing. This is an ideal time to remind you to ensure your passwords are very strong, don't use things like your date/place of birth or your name and don't click on any suspicious attachments in any emails you receive.
Cloud services are secure I've been using them for a while now personally and for work, it's down to users to ensure that they do the best they can to protect their accounts.
Friday, 22 August 2014
Do you have negative perceptions of Internet Explorer? Microsoft considered changing its name.
Although it has 58% of the web browser market share there have been some issues with it having a bad reputation in the past due to issues with security in previous versions.
Personally, I don't think a re-brand would have made much difference, if you have a perception of something and don't like it a new name wouldn't make any difference and you probably still wouldn't use it. Another point is that you would also know that it's still developed by Microsoft.
I think most users of the Internet have their own favourite browsers be it Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox or another altenative, therefore why change from what you like to something else? As for me I need to use all of these browsers, mainly for testing that any websites that we develop work well in all, but in some cases certain sites will run better on one browser over another.
What do you think? Do you have a favourite browser that you use? Should Microsoft have changed the name of Internet Explorer to something else? I look forward to receiving your comments.
Thursday, 7 August 2014
Cloud Technology - The Future?
Quote: "A solid majority of technology experts and stakeholders participating in the fourth Future of the Internet survey expect that by 2020 most people will access software applications online and share and access information through the use of remote server networks, rather than depending primarily on tools and information housed on their individual, personal computers. They say that cloud computing will become more dominant than the desktop in the next decade. In other words, most users will perform most computing and communicating activities through connections to servers operated by outside firms."
I agree that a lot of software applications are now online, but from experience some firms are still skeptical about using cloud technology and like to have information held on their own devices. Using cloud technology firms are able to allow their employees to work from various devices, mobiles, tablets etc. This allows a more flexible way of working as employees are able to access documents etc not just when sat at their desk but when away for work or if they work from home. In this respect cloud computing is starting to become more dominant for those firms that operate flexible working policies.
Quote: "The highly engaged, diverse set of respondents to an online, opt-in survey included 895 technology stakeholders and critics. The study was fielded by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project and Elon University’s Imagining the Internet Center. Some 71% agreed with the statement:
By 2020, most people won’t do their work with software running on a general-purpose PC. Instead, they will work in Internet-based applications such as Google Docs, and in applications run from smartphones. Aspiring application developers will develop for smartphone vendors and companies that provide Internet-based applications, because most innovative work will be done in that domain, instead of designing applications that run on a PC operating system.”
Rather than using Google Docs, in my business we access documents etc using Microsoft's Office 365 but there are certainly many ways in which to access your documents using cloud technology. Documents can also be saved and/or shared using OneDrive or a similar document storage application. These applications can be used from a range of devices, including a smartphone or tablet device. There are now many more developers that specialise in the development of Apps for these devices, but I feel that there is still a place for software that is developed specifically for PC's, especially if it specific for a business and they have no need to access their applications via cloud technology.
Quote: " A number of people said cloud computing presents difficult security problems and further exposes private information to governments, corporations, thieves, opportunists, and human and machine error."
When selecting a cloud computing provider, it's imperative that you check that you will be using a provider that offers security protection for you and secure servers your data. You must also ensure that the servers which hold your data are located in a country that will conform with any local data protection laws. Yes, human error can occur, but this can happen even when you are using a network server or local PC.
Why not take a look at the full report and form your own opinion? I strongly believe that cloud technology is the way forward and we have been using it and offering cloud solutions to our customers for quite a while now.
Thursday, 10 July 2014
Planning is the Key
A question that is quite common is - “How do I design a successful Web site?”
As you might suspect, the answer is, “Lack of proper planning beforehand.”
Let’s put it another way, in programming, there’s an old saying, which states: “The sooner you start your coding the longer it takes to finish.”
Planning out your website before you build it is essential. To borrow a technique from the film industry, I recommend that you create a storyboard or mind map, which is a type of a flow chart of your new website design. You don’t have to be an accomplished artist to draw out your idea, but it’s essential to create it on paper or using a mind map first.
On each piece of paper if creating the storyboard, the goal is to have room for an image at the top, plus space underneath for writing down information. As you might suspect, the first page to start with is your home (or welcome) page, which will typically have the most information as it will contain the page the people visit before they enter your site and as people go through your site, the will encounter more information (in tiers) as they go down.
Typically, the home page links to 5-15 pages below that, which we could refer to as Tier 2. Each of those pages links to another 5-15 pages, which you could call Tier 3.
If you use all of these pages, you’ll wind up with an extensive Web site design, of at least 226 pages (including the home page).
If you are using a mind map, you will go through a similar process to above, but on one piece of paper as a type of flow chart. A basic example is shown below:
It’s during this process that all sorts of problems will crop up. But it’s much easier to solve them on paper than in the middle of building the site rather than when you are finished, although if you are developing a content managed website such as our ConvallisCMS sites the content can easily be changed, but it's a bit more difficult to change the template design.
Working things out on paper or a mind map will give you a much better idea of how things will work and how to fix problems. And, if you have knowledgeable friends, get a second opinion. Once you’ve completed the on-paper/mind map process, and you and your web designer are satisfied with the results, you’re ready to translate it into code.
As you might suspect, the answer is, “Lack of proper planning beforehand.”
Let’s put it another way, in programming, there’s an old saying, which states: “The sooner you start your coding the longer it takes to finish.”
Planning out your website before you build it is essential. To borrow a technique from the film industry, I recommend that you create a storyboard or mind map, which is a type of a flow chart of your new website design. You don’t have to be an accomplished artist to draw out your idea, but it’s essential to create it on paper or using a mind map first.
On each piece of paper if creating the storyboard, the goal is to have room for an image at the top, plus space underneath for writing down information. As you might suspect, the first page to start with is your home (or welcome) page, which will typically have the most information as it will contain the page the people visit before they enter your site and as people go through your site, the will encounter more information (in tiers) as they go down.
Typically, the home page links to 5-15 pages below that, which we could refer to as Tier 2. Each of those pages links to another 5-15 pages, which you could call Tier 3.
If you use all of these pages, you’ll wind up with an extensive Web site design, of at least 226 pages (including the home page).
If you are using a mind map, you will go through a similar process to above, but on one piece of paper as a type of flow chart. A basic example is shown below:
It’s during this process that all sorts of problems will crop up. But it’s much easier to solve them on paper than in the middle of building the site rather than when you are finished, although if you are developing a content managed website such as our ConvallisCMS sites the content can easily be changed, but it's a bit more difficult to change the template design.
Working things out on paper or a mind map will give you a much better idea of how things will work and how to fix problems. And, if you have knowledgeable friends, get a second opinion. Once you’ve completed the on-paper/mind map process, and you and your web designer are satisfied with the results, you’re ready to translate it into code.
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