Intel Compute Stick: Is It Right for You?

hardware,
08
Sep 2015

Intel-Compute-Stick-PC-Stick

The Intel Compute Stick has been released which fits into the palm of your hand and promises to turn your TV into a fully working PC. Is it right for you?

What Intel has aimed to create with the Compute Stick is an HDMI stick which allows you to run your TV (or monitor) as a Windows 8.1 PC. Yep, you get full access to everything a desktop PC can do, but at a fraction of the size.

Sounds exciting, right? And too good to be true, right? And that’s why we’re going to take a look at whether the Compute Stick is what you need.

What Does the Intel Compute Stick Excel At?

  1. Turning a TV into a SmartTV
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Let’s be honest, SmartTV’s offer a lot of choice, but they’re notoriously difficult to navigate through and typing information into them is a laborious process!

However, with the Compute Stick you can now reap all the benefits of a Smart TV e.g. access to YouTube, NetFlix and Hulu with the bonus of desktop accessibility in the form of wireless mice and keyboards.

The Compute Stick doesn’t just stop at video; it also allows you to stream music through your TV to transform it into a home entertainment system.

  1. Video Conferencing System

The Compute Stick is powered by a 1.3GHz Intel Atom processor with 2GB of ram, so this means it’s more than capable of streaming high definition video.

This is allows users to set up video conferencing wherever there’s a display. Due to the compact size of the Compute Stick this means it’s ideal for those on the move or those with limited space for conference rooms.

  1. Running Basic Business Functions

The portability of the Compute Stick is an amazing feature as it allows individuals to carry out business work no matter where they are.

Perhaps they’re away at a sales conference, but desperately need to edit a spreadsheet for a potential client. With the Compute Stick in their pocket (and it will fit in a pocket) they can easily get to work with Office applications.

With 32GB worth of storage on board you can carry around a lot of spreadsheets!

Where Does the Compute Stick Struggle?

  1. Multitasking

Now, the Compute Stick is more than capable of running almost all your standard PC software, but there is a slight lag in performance. After all, there has to be some payoff for such a tiny PC.

This can become very frustrating when you have a couple of applications open e.g. transferring information from an Excel document to a Word document whilst you dip in and out of your browser is going to be a slow affair.

  1. Memory Intensive Applications

The Compute Stick is going to really struggle running certain software which demands huge amounts of processor power, so it won’t be suitable for everyone.

Graphic designers and video editors, in particular, are going to find that trying to run programs such as Photoshop is a thankless task as all they will do is grind your system to a halt.

Also, many hospitals are now using ‘computers on a stick’ to help manage patient records, but this type of demand is far too risky especially when such sensitive information is involved.

Final Thoughts

intel-compute-stick-tv-large

As long as your PC needs are simple and you don’t mind a slight lag in performance then the Compute Stick offers a cut price alternative to a business PC or a home entertainment system. However, if you have rather complex needs then the Compute Stick is going to be far too frustrating to rely on.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

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Are Solid State Drives Worth It?

hardware, ,
10
Aug 2015

Intel_SSD_straight

Solid state drives are non-mechanical storage devices which reduce load times and replace hard drives. Are solid state drives worth it for a small business?

What is an SSD?

Traditionally, the hard drive of a computer has always been a hard disk drive (HDD) made up of spinning disks covered in a magnetic coating to allow data to be read/written.

An SSD, however, has no moving parts and is powered by Flash memory. Essentially it’s a giant USB memory stick. And we all know how much quicker they are than fiddling round with disks!

SSDs, therefore, have become increasingly popular due to the speeds offered. In fact, sales of SSDs are currently doubling each year as HDD sales fall.

But what is it about SSDs that make them so appealing?

The Benefits of an SSDComparison-SSD-vs-HDD

Increased Speed

We all get frustrated with the load up times for our computers and it’s even more irritating for business users who need to connect to numerous networks. However, by replacing an HDD with an SSD, users can find a 1 minute load time reduced to 15 seconds.

And it’s not just operating systems that receive this sprightly boost. Software such as Microsoft Office will also load in a fraction of the time.

Where SSDs really excel is their capacity to read and write data at speeds that are double that of an HDD. This results in a much quicker rate for creating and transferring files.

There are never enough hours in a business day, so anything which increases work time is a real bonus.

Better Data Integrity

A huge benefit of SSDs is that they’ll never crash and take all their data to silicon heaven. They simply stop writing data and preserve the current data load. Anyone who’s ever lost data to a hard drive crash will know that this is invaluable.

No Moving Parts

The fact that SSDs have no moving parts brings a number of benefits to your computer.

The main area of concern for a business is the process of wear and tear on an HDD due to the intense pressure the disk is put under by running at up to 7200rpm. An SSD, though, is never going to wear out and die.

No moving parts also make SSDs more energy efficient and help promote your business’ green image.

Is an SSD Worth the Extra Cost?

You’re probably getting quite excited over the prospect of SSDs, but they do have one drawback – the cost.

A 128gb SSD costs around $40 at the time of this writing, but a 160gb HDD can be as low as $15. This may not be a huge difference for a one off consumer, but if you’ve got a workforce of 50 computers then it begins to get pricey!

However, costs are dropping rapidly – as with all new technology – so SSDs are only going to become more affordable. You’re getting more bang for your buck with SSDs due to the increases in speed and reliability they offer.

For a small business, SSDs offer an exciting upgrade which will increase productivity and help your business reach the next level.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

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Increase Productivity with Better Peripherals

hardware, ,
07
Aug 2015

11409_SFONDO_225919Logitech-New-G-series-Peripherals-for-PC-Gaming

PC peripherals such as mice and keyboards are vital for any office, but firms rarely spend much on them. Spending a little more can increase productivity.

If you take a look in the gaming section of any PC store you’re likely to find two things:

  1. Teenagers
  2. An array of futuristic looking keyboards and mice covered in much more than just a click wheel and two buttons.

You see, the use of gaming peripherals isn’t just limited to commanding digital armies and flying spaceships. In fact, they could be just the thing you need to maximize productivity levels in your business.

The Problems with Standard Peripherals

Computer mouse

If you’re lucky your keyboard may have a button which launches Internet Explorer and saves you a few clicks on your mouse. However, this is about the extent of most standard keyboard options for shortcuts.

Your firm may even have invested in some hotkey software to launch macros (automatic commands) such as holding down ‘ctrl + N + F3’ to open an email template no matter what program you’re in. It definitely saves a bit of time, but it comes with a couple of problems:

  • Remembering the correct combination of keystrokes is tricky
  • You’re limited by the number of shortcuts due to the difficulty in holding down keys at opposite ends of the keyboard
  • Getting to grips with new software always involves training which eats into productivity
  • Setting up the software on each individual computer in the office

So, how do you overcome these obstacles and get more productive?

High End Peripherals to the Rescue

roccat-tyon

Let’s take a look at how you can utilize gaming peripherals to take control of your workload like never before!

Mice

Mice are generally known as having two buttons – a left and a right, but doesn’t this seem a little limited when we’ve got five fingers on each hand?! Pay a few more dollars and you could end up with around 20 buttons on your mouse!

It may feel a little strange at first, but by being able to execute so many macros without taking your hand off the mouse will save your staff hours in fiddling about with the keyboard and then having to get back to grips with the mouse.

Slightly higher end mice are also designed with better tracking in mind. This level of design ensures that you’re more in control of the cursor on your screen. We’ve all had that frustrating moment where the cursor has flown off screen and then takes a minute or two to find again.

Keyboards

Keyboards at the higher end of the market can have up to 20 programmable one touch buttons which means you’ve always got plenty of options for generating new macros.

And, don’t forget, all the ‘easy to reach’ hotkey shortcuts are already taken e.g. ‘CTRL + C’ for copy, so you’re left having to stretch your fingers all over the keyboard. One touch buttons, though, are much more intuitive to use and easier to execute.

Standard peripherals may well save you money in the short term, but in the long term they’re going to cost you in wasted man hours as your staff struggle to work with them. Invest a little extra cash in your peripherals, though, and you’ll find productivity improves.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

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Can you reuse IT equipment?

hardware,
12
Jul 2015

recycle_keyboard

Do you want to reuse IT equipment? There are good reasons to reuse old computers, servers and printers.  Here’s what you need to check before discarding old equipment.

With IT equipment having a recommended life cycle implied by vendors and manufacturers, many businesses wonder if its best to scrap IT equipment altogether or to put it to good use elsewhere.

Since throwing out computer equipment contributes to producing a surplus of waste, which has detrimental effects on both the environment and on life itself, we’ve decided to write this article for ideas on how to re-purpose computer equipment.

The first thing we suggest is to have a list of all the IT inventory, making sure the make, model and specifications are noted down. Then check our ideas below for reusing specific types of equipment.

Reusing desktops or laptops

Fun-Ways-You-Can-Recycle-Your-Old-Computer-10

Check to see what operating system (OS) is on the computer or laptop. For instance, if it runs on a recent OS, such as Windows 7 or 8, it’s still good enough to use.

Some laptops can be reused to provide colleagues with a way to work more flexibly, especially for those who move around a lot, work from home or work on the road.

It’s even worth checking to see if older machines can be re-purposed to be used in a test environment, as a dummy server or to host company files and information.

A computer could also be repurposed to be used as a locked-down guest machine that connects through a guest Wi-Fi network for clients or visitors to use.

Unless there’s already a backup of some sort in place, it’s even possible to set up backup services for a primary server by re-purposing an old computer. For instance, crucial network services such as DNS and DHCP are light to run. Say that a primary server with such services fails; it’ll bring down the network. This is one of many potential examples available.

Reusing a printer

Fun-Ways-You-Can-Recycle-Your-Old-Computer-2

Is your printer a modern one? If so, we suggest checking the ink toner, cartridge and drum prices, to see if how affordable it is. This could result in sparing expenses on a different printer that could cost more to run in the long term.

Even if the ink is expensive, it may be worth connecting the printer to a computer that often prints confidential documents to keep it close to the user.

Reusing networking equipment

It’s worth keeping networking equipment that’s capable of gigabit speeds and at least Wireless-N speeds. Anything slower could be repurposed on a test network or on a home network that doesn’t rely on high  speeds, if needed.  To determine if your networking equipment is capable of gigabit speeds, check for keywords such as GigE, Gigabit, 1000mbit, or cat 6.

A lost cause?

We understand that not everything will be fit for purpose once it’s been worn out or broken, for instance peripherals, mice, keyboards and cables. This is when a reputable recycling company should be contacted to responsibly recycle broken equipment. Now-a-days it’s possible for recycling plants to melt down plastics and metals into molds that can be reused in manufacturing other goods within, but not limited to, the electronics and computer industry. This helps to reduce the demand for mining raw materials in the earth and reducing the carbon foot print generated by such extraction methods and processes.

Be careful!

A final note, be sure to wipe all data from old hard drives/ disks and any removable media that may contain important data. Dumpster diving is still a risk that has the potential for a company’s data to leak, especially when gained from disposed office equipment. This applies to whether the equipment is given away, thrown out (not recommended) or repurposed.

By adopting the practice of reusing IT equipment, this will help make an impact on reducing waste on our landfills.

For more ways to repurpose your IT equipment, contact your local IT professionals.

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Does the Speed of your Computer Matter?

hardware,
08
Jul 2015

fast-computer

Computer processor speed helps determine how fast your system performs. We’ll help you answer: does the speed of your computer really matter?

We’ll be providing you with a guide, along with example scenarios for the different processor speeds available today. However, let’s first look at what processor speed is.

What is Processor Speed?

The speed of a processor is measured in hertz, which relates to how many cycles they run per second.  Nowadays processors are measured in Ghz (gigahertz), which means billions of cycles are processed per second.

Not all computers are designed to respond to tasks as quickly as you may be led to believe when a store sales rep tries to sell you a computer. Even with a decent processor, such as a quad core, one needs to be wary of dwarfed speeds that will limit how fast a processor carries out tasks.

It’s no use having a multi core processor that responds to tasks slowly, when one can purchase a cheaper quad core with higher speed capacity. For instance, a 2 Ghz quad core is slower than a 3 Ghz dual core.

Processor Speed Scenarios

website-speed

Below 2.0 Ghz:

Processors with this speed will only manage to cope with basic email and web browsing activities. It’ll also be able to process light document writing. However any other types of demanding software, such as for graphic editing and video creation, will make it struggle and fall flat on its face. Here are some budget systems on Amazon.

2.0-3.0 Ghz:

This range of speed will cope well with web browsing, working with emails, running business programs such as patient management systems and general multi-tasking.  This category works well for the average office computer.

Above 3.0 Ghz:

If you need to run demanding graphic and video systems, then you’ll need to have a computer that comes with a processor of at least this speed. This range is also very good for heavy multi-tasking and creating multimedia such as high resolution graphics and videos.  This category also works well for running many programs, documents, and browser tabs at once.

Having considered all of the above scenarios, a higher speed processor will only work to its potential if it’s supported with enough computer memory. You’ll also need to consider purchasing at least a dual core processor to get speedier and decent PC performance.

For more ways to optimize your business systems systems, contact your local IT professionals.

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