So we took delivery of the new Google Pixel flagship range of devices. We had to replace our ageing Pixel 5 phone and Fossil smartwatch. So this seemed an excellent time to try the new goods.
As you know we have been Google fans for phones and tech for a while and this is us just keeping to what we know best. The Pixel 7 Pro is the larger of the two Pixel 7 phones. So WE wanted to try all the extra bells and whistles it has. The camera and the built-in AI intrigues us and we wanted t see if it lived up to what they claim. It is early days yet but we are so far impressed. even the under-screen fingerprint reader has improved a lot in the Pixel 7 Pro. It is a larger phone and the screen resolution can be pumped up and give the sharpest of images. We will report back in a few weeks on the pros and cons we have found after using it for business and leisure.
Onto the Pixel Watch
Google’s well-rumoured first dive into a Wear product. It is not as watch-looking as my previous Fossil Watch. But works well. The only thing we are finding so far is the battery just doesn’t last and we are charging it through the day at least twice, so it can be worn it at night and check sleep patterns. It also doesn’t fast charge at this point and doesn’t use the rumoured QI charging. so you can only use the supplied charger base. Will see if they push out any updates to improve things. It also has its own dedicated App and not the Wear app I used before. Will again report back on usage, but these are some of the initial findings.
Watch this space for more info as we collate our findings in the weeks to come.
Microsoft has done the very thing it said it wouldn’t and launched a new operating system, Windows 11. They had always said that Windows 10 would be the last and it would be tailored and updated. However, here we are with a new version of Windows. So, Windows 11 then?
So lets all go and download and install it.
Microsoft has said it is a free download for Windows 10 users, so surely it should be a simple case of downloading and installing it. Well, unfortunately, no it isn’t.
So what are the issues, or known issues just now?
Here is what we know so far and it is changing every day. Windows 11 looks at two main things and they are as follows: –
It checks if your current hardware system has something called TPM version 2. (Earlier versions are not supported.) What is TPM, well it is explained here? I have version 1.5 on my system.
The next thing it checks is your processor and it must be 8th generation or higher CPU. I have an i7 and it won’t install on it as it must be an older generation. Now being a green focussed guy I purchased my desktop last year as a refurbished machine and has an i7 and 32Gb of ram and a 480Gb SSD and can handle everything I throw at it. I won’t be changing my machine soon.
Work arounds, what are they and are they recommended?
Now you may have read about various workarounds and even Microsoft posted a link to give a workaround for the TPM check. It involves changing registry settings on the current machine and then running the install package from a downloaded ISO of Windows 11. Someone has also come up with a workaround for the CPU being a problem. Some people I know have managed to install even though Windows 11 said their system wasn’t compatible.
But, the big elephant in the room is that Microsoft even in their own article about the workaround for the TPM has said, “We do not recommend this as the system maybe become unstable and it may affect future updates.”
The problem with these specific workarounds is that when Windows 11 updates run in the future the system may become corrupted or even completely brick itself and the machine will have to be flattened and reinstalled with a system that works. So do these at your own risk.
So what are Microsoft playing at?
Answers on a postcard, please. They have copied Apple on the TPM front which ties the Operating System to the Hardware. But making the processor such a new version seems a bit ridiculous, as I can’t see larger organisations and even some smaller orgainsations I deal with replacing all their machines just to get Windows 11. The cost would be massive and very prohibitive. This would suggest that Microsoft is going to have to support Windows 10 well into the future until these organisations replace their machines with the later kit. I honestly think that Microsoft has lost the ball here and/or is playing a new card that we are all unsure of. They may be trying to force people to replace machines, they have rumored that Windows will become a Software as a service like Office 365, and in fact, they have that just now where you can purchase Microsoft 365 which includes the Operating System. How this will be affected by Windows 11 being so selective, for the people who have already purchased this I don’t know.
Here are a few other links that talk about the workarounds and some of the Windows 11 stuff. ( I do not recommend these, do them at your own risk)
A question I am asked a lot is, “What technology should I be using?”
The better question would be why should I use that technology?
So, what is the point of this article.? It is all about what you need and what you do.
The technology of yesterday, is not the technology of tomorrow as it is changing so fast. This matters because of the reason that technology is changing. It is changing because of customer demand a lot of the time and the new technology helps users work smarter and not harder.
So, what are the key factors about adopting new technology?
The ultimate answer is you are the key factor, let me explain further: –
I could easily go into any of my clients and simply say here is the new tech and you need it now. This of course is a broad-brush approach and they may not need half of what I am telling them they need.
So, I never do that, I ask loads and I mean loads of questions. I need to get inside their heads and their business. My forte is that I keep an eye and focus on what is out there and can advise accordingly.
I try and establish the following: –
What do you and your business do just now?
What may you be doing in the shorter term?
Where do you see things in the longer term?
This enables me to focus on exactly you do and how you currently are doing it.
I can then look at solutions that are there just now that may make your tasks smarter and with emerging tech, I can advise on when you should maybe put your toe in the water.
I.T. is an ever-changing horizon and you have your focus and business to run. So why not hand it over to someone who focusses on the tech and get them to advise on what may be beneficial for you.
So, the key factors about adopting technology is you and your team and business. I always start from that point.
The first-ever laptop with a foldable display
is undoubtedly a highlight of CES 2020 — a futuristic device that you can
actually buy this year.
Way back in May 2019, Lenovo made a lofty
promise while showing off a prototype device: that it would release the
first-ever laptop with a foldable display, the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold, in
2020. Now, Lenovo has clearly made good on that promise.
The tested, stylized version of the product
shown off almost a year ago — with literal support tape on it and without a name
— easily sells the idea of what foldable screen technology could accomplish in
a mobile computing device.
Magazines could look fantastic on the ThinkPad
X1 Fold, and with the bundled Bluetooth keyboard, people could work on that
document while watching the latest episode of “The Witcher” on
Netflix above. These are quaint scenarios, and barely business-related as the
“ThinkPad” name would suggest, but these are the first ideas that
come to mind.
The $2,499.00 price tag essentially shrinks the audience for this first foldable outing to just well-off executives and other financially fortunate technology enthusiasts — including some creative pros despite the suit-like ThinkPad branding. Regardless, the ThinkPad X1 Fold captures our imaginations, which makes it all the more exciting to be released in 2020. — Joe Osborne, senior technology editor
We haven’t had the time to look over all the announcements at CES 2020 this year, but we will try and bring one or two that caught our eye to you over the next few weeks.
This one we think should be taken further and adopted by vehicle manufacturers. What do you think?
Virtual Car Visor
Made by German manufacturer Bosch, the virtual visor works by tracking the driver’s eyes using facial recognition technology. When it detects sun in the driver’s eyes it blocks it without obscuring the rest of the road.
When it detects sun it casts a show over the small area of the driver’s face exposed to sun glare stopping it from interfering with their view.
Sun visors are one of the most overlooked features of a car’s interior, according to Bosch. AA research shows that one in 50% of car accidents in the UK is caused by sun glare.
If the product proves viable it could totally eliminate the need for traditional sun visors in cars. However, at present, the virtual visor is just a concept and years away from going into production.
The current statistics shown that the sales of various tech
is now down and that people aren’t eagerly awaiting to buy the latest thing.
There are various reasons for this and to put your finger in the one would be wrong.
But it begs the question about what we do with old kit? I
have been recently taking 7 year old laptops that have still some very good kit
on board and upgrading by adding a SSD drive to them.
What do we do with our computers?
We need to look at what we now do with computers: –
A few years ago all programmes were on the computer and so was the data until we backed it up
The Internet was growing fast and we are getting faster access.
So cloud storage became a thing and has grown over the last few years to an amazing level.
“According to recent research by Nasuni, there is over 1 Exabyte of data stored in the cloud, or: 1024 Petabytes of data. 1,073,741,824 Gigabytes of data. Quintillion bytes of data” This data was 2013. 6 years ago.
These figures don’t even make sense to us. To try and comprehend this amount of data and storage becomes something we can’t relate to.
Applications are also becoming more cloud driven and this will only increase over the next few years. SAAS. (Software As A Service). Office 365 is a well-known one. Google utilities, (G-suite), etc. Monthly subscriptions and the latest and greatest always at your fingertips.
So what does this mean?
Well, the strain is being taken off a lot of standalone machines as the storage needs to be less as all data goes to the cloud. (See article on using the cloud, here.)
The machines if they have a large amount of RAM and a fast SSD drive can boot up in anything from 4 seconds to 18 seconds. (The one I worked on recently booted up in 4 seconds)
So old kit can be slightly upgraded and cope very well with
what you need it to do. Thus alleviating the direct need to buy the latest kit
all the time.
What’s best for you?
Well, that really depends on how you operate and the things
you need to achieve. But don’t immediately write off all your current kit.
Maybe it is just better connections that you need or you need to think about
the way you operate and see if there are ways it can be done better.
We techie people like to have nice names for things and also
some nice technobabble names for things. The word Vanilla has a rough meaning
of the following: –
“Computer software, and sometimes also other computing-related systems like computer hardware or algorithms, are called vanilla when not customized from their original form, meaning that they are used without any customisations or updates applied to them. Vanilla software has become a widespread de facto industry standard, widely used by businesses and individuals. The term comes from the traditional standard flavour of ice cream, vanilla. According to Eric S. Raymond’s The New Hacker’s Dictionary, “vanilla” means more “default” than “ordinary”
So what we mean is that when a vanilla copy of Windows 10 is
installed onto a machine it is only Windows 10 with all its baggage and faults.
We know that nothing else exists on the machine.
This, for us IT guys makes life easier for troubleshooting. If there are problems with the machine it can only be between Windows and the hardware as there is nothing else on the system at this point. Once we cure these and the system is running well and all seems to be operating the way we expect, we can then look at installing other programs and seeing how Windows talks to them. Each software install can have its own issues or it can simply work. Guess which one we like?
What is the alternative to a Vanilla Install?
Well, that sadly is what most of us do, thinking all will be well. “That accepting the update scenario.”
Here is the situation, you are running Windows 7 and all is well. It has been around for quite a while and all the patches and fixes have been out and installed. Your system is sweet. The Windows 10 comes out and promises a lot more, it’s faster, it’s better, you can do more and it works well.
Microsoft also offers it for free if you take it now, after
that it will be charging….What do you do?
You click update and it downloads Windows 10. Oh’ the
excitement of the new is always a draw, and surely it must be better, that is
what they promised.
What could go wrong?
As with any installation you have to look at the foundation and what will the new Operating system be sitting on top off. Even though your computer seemed to running smoothly. Under the hood there may well have been issues that just didn’t surface. The software may have been compromising some operational items to get it all to work.
The adage we always like to use is, “If you have any issues
or even minor bugs with the current system an update could cure them, but most
likely it will just make them worse. A clean install and one that cures all the
issues before any other apps are installed means that the foundation is correct
and that issues after this are down to software conflicts of installed
programs.”
Conclusion
I must be honest and I do believe that Windows 10 has some
major bugs and a bit too much, what we call bloatware, (added items Microsoft
think you need.)
I also believe however that some of the troubles people have
had with Windows 10 on machines is because of the update option and not the
flatten and fresh clean install option or vanilla install as I like to call it.
If you want to the latest and greatest operating system it is best to backup and flatten the machine. Then reinstall all the apps and connectivity. You will have a cleaner and more stable machine that you have had for a long time. Windows in itself becomes cluttered over the years with all the programs that have been installed and uninstalled leaving some fragments of files behind. So cleaning all this and installing is always the best option. I have done this to many machines last year and all are faster and getting the best performance they can. Windows also seems to update without any major faults.
If you want to talk about his or get me in to-do some of the
above then get in touch or comment below.
The nature of computing over the last few years has gone one way and one way only and that is to drive users on the cloud. The software is now offered as a service and machines locally are less powerful with less storage, as your storage is not local anymore and is on the cloud remotely.
Most people are going with the flow and some others are still thinking the old way and have loads of data stored locally. The machines then become infected and data is lost or compromised.
Some companies have to store data locally due to legal requirements or just their processes in-house require it. However, the way the world is going is to store remotely, which allows so many good benefits.
What are the Benefits?
Let us start by looking at some of the benefits of cloud and remote storage: –
The use and accessibility of files and work become easier. Users can drag and drop files etc. to cloud storage drives ion their machines. You don’t have to be technical. The stored data can then be accessed from anywhere in the world.
How about disaster recovery? A backup plan for data has been something us I.T. guys have shouted about for years. Cloud storage drives create an automatic backup of all data stored, taking away the need for you to do it and the costs involved.
Security is always the main argument against using the cloud. However, the best thing about cloud-stored data is that the server data is distributed across redundant servers and the data that is stored in the cloud is safeguarded against any type of hardware failure. Cloud servers also provide automated backups and snapshots in order to make sure that your data is safe.
There are cost savings in using cloud-based data storage as well. No expensive on-site storage solutions that have running costs as well. All this is saved and the cost of cloud storage against it usually means a cost saving. This depends on your company and setup of course.
Data sharing is another great benefit of cloud storage. Files can be shared in-house with colleagues or with clients externally.
Automation of backups etc. is also a massive benefit. Once set up a daily routine isn’t needed locally and this frees up people for other tasks.
Online cloud storage is also a great way to allow staff and clients to collaborate on documents and projects. From anywhere in the world.
File integrity is also another great plus. When working on a cloud-based file you simply save and close. This means we don’t have various copies on various machines. Then trying to sync most recent of them.
The amount of convenience and peace of mind offered by cloud storage system is amazing! Even if you store data on transportable devices like external hard drives or flash drives, some kind of manual intervention and physical handling is required. The data that is stored in a cloud is backed up online and it can be accessed from anywhere. Information is automatically saved as it streams in. There is no need for you to save, label or track information. The convenience of online cloud storage enables you to completely concentrate on your work without getting stressed about data loss.
Conclusion
Online storage and backup are beneficial for all types of businesses. It is a platform that does not require any huge investment and can be actively used in connecting staff and clients. Collaborating and using data smartly. Not to mention less supervision and online activities. Secure in the knowledge that it is all backed up for you and can be accessed from anywhere.
A strange question for the uninitiated. What is a NAS and what sort of food does it eat and how should I be treating it?
My focus recently has been all about storage and the space we are each using to store our data. (Whatever that data maybe). From faster drives to access the data to storage solution on the cloud and in the office. It is one of the most important and common questions I am asked.
One solution doesn’t meet everyone’s needs. But a combination of solutions is usually what people use and sometimes chaotically with no thought on how this will progress and what the strategy is or should be.
So what is a NAS?
Well, it isn’t a small creature that keeps you company and helps with your storage and access to data. Well, that is not completely true it does allow storage and access to data in various ways and will cleverly backup said data in different ways. NAS stands for Network Attached Storage. A system of storage media that is attached to your network at home or work. Over the years this type of storage has become more and more intelligent and can literally be a self-contained computer system that runs all your data and data access. It can be a small unit to a much larger unit. Various companies make them and they are, well what can I say I am biased, brilliant.
I have used one for business for over 8 years now and it has served me well. I can store data on it and it has internal drives that automatically backup to each other creating what is called a mirror of my data. I also can, and have configured it to back up to a cloud drive and have chosen the important data to back up in this way. So I have offsite data as well.
The NAS unit allows me to access it remotely over the Internet, (Through a secure connection), so my own personal cloud drive with access. I can add users and give them a proportion of the space and they can store their data there and we can collaborate on data.
Benefits
This is a lower costs system to having a fully-fledged file server in your office and still allows multiple access by users and storage and remote access. It has a configuration panel that is easy to understand and configure. An admin is appointed and can add users, block users and configure all the aspects of the system. The amount of storage is up to you and your budget. But it can be easy to handle and allow for expansion to a cloud drive or even to add extra space at the NAS unit itself.
Remember the biggest asset to any business is data and the importance of data and how easy it is to access it and collaborate using it is important.
So if you are considering storage and where it all goes?
I am asked by a lot of people about the new SSD drives as they call them, (In fact, this type of storage has been around for a while, granted it is developing and getting smarter and better all the time.), However, I digress. They ask me if the guarantee on this type of storage is as good as the older platter hard drives that stored their data to a physical disk using magnetism.
Well, there are many factors that affect both types of storage and cause them to fail or basically run out of life.
I stumbled across an article by CNet and they explain the way both drives work and how the SSD drive is much more complicated but in essence with last much longer. They are some actions you can do to help this but don’t panic you really don’t need to do them.
Check out the article here. (All credits here to Cnet.)
