Is your laptop data safe when using Wifi Hotposts??  
The BBC says NO!

BBC 1’s consumer Watchdog program this week broadcasted a show about the dangers of using free wifi access points, offered by many high street venues like McDonalds & Starbucks. Armed with their own hacker, the watchdog team set about accessing innocent users laptops who were connected to the hotspots. The hacker managed to obtain access to various systems and certain types of data. To watch the BBC program in full click on the this  link

Scary it may sound, but there are some easy ways to protect yourself when using public hotspots.  Smart Computers also offers a range of business solutions  to protect your mobile workers, please see below.

Here are some steps to protect yourself when using public wifi hotspots:

• When entering personal data see if there is SSL encryted versions of website. The site should begin with https://
• Check your folder sharing permissons and use a password protected user account
• Make sure software has all the latest updates e.g. Windows Updates
• Use updated Anti Virus software (For a FREE trial click here)
• Use  a VPN (Virtual Private Network) (Contact Us)
• Use encryted email certificates (Contact Us)

For more advice and information please contact Smart Computers on 01242 580 654

Linux Vs XP

When buying a netbook, some manufacturers give you the choice of different operating systems either Linux or XP! With Linux netbooks available for under £100, I hear you ask ‘What is the difference?’ and ‘What are the benefits?’ 

Well Linux is a free operating system or “Open Source” which means its costs hardly anything for manufacturers to use , making them far more cheaper for the likes of you and me! Due to its lower hardware requirements, the Linux OS runs quite spritely, plus it offers you a great set of pre-installed applications for all types of tasks, from internet browsing, email, graphics editing & word processing. However there a few issues.

• Unfamiliar layout/user interface
• Incompatible software
• Steep learning curve

Don’t get me wrong, Linux is great for the basic day to day tasks even for media tasks like listerning to music and watching videos. So for a cheaper system for simple online tasks, a Linux Netbook could be very suitable for a tech savvy user.

If you want to use the more familiar operating system then nothing beats the popular Windows XP Home. Already on millions of PC’s most of us have used Microsofts aging operating system. Key points about XP are:

• Familiarity with interface
• Compatible  with most software
• Compatible with most hardware
• Ease of use

The only downside to choosing XP is its a slightly more expensive choice due to licensing and hardware requirements.So if you are looking for a cheap laptop replacement for general net use, there are a lot of choices out there for you. So why not contact me at Smart Computers on  01242 580654 or email me. I’ll be happy to help you find the product suitable for your needs.

Linux interface on a Acer netbook

lenovo S12 netbook

Those Netbooks are getting everywhere! Compact, good battery, cheap and  excellent performance.

But try and do anything else apart from the basics, like gaming or watching HD content, and you will start seeing its true colours.

However that is about to change with nVidia’s new ION chip set. Which promises to deliver even better performance using netbook components. One of the first manufacturers to show this new chipset is Lenovo’s IdealPad S12 Netbook. Available towards the end of summer you can pre-book this great looking device at Smart Computers by click here or contacting us on 01243 560 654

Technical Specs:

IdeaPad S12 Netbook

Display: 12.1 WXGA (1280 X 800) LED 200 nit, 250g
Processor: Intel Atom N270
Graphics: Intel integrated GMA 950, Nvidia ION
Memory: Up to 1GB DDR2 533 MHz
Hard Drive: Up to 160 GB SATA (160, 250, 320)
Battery Life: 3 hours with 3-cell, 6 hours with 6-cell
Weight: 1.4kg with 3 cell, 1.55kg with 6 cell
Dimensions: 292 X 216 X 22-28.9mm
Connectivity: 10/100m Ethernet, Broadcom 578M, Intel WiFi Link 5150 1X2 AGN, Intel WiFi Link 5100 1X2 AGN, Non-Intel wireless b/g, Non-Intel wireless b/g/n, Bluetooth
Other: 3 USB, 1 Expresscard slot (Intel and VIA platforms), 4-in-1 card reader, VGA, RJA45, HDMI
Software: XP Home SP3 (32 bit)

Today we see the launch of the ‘Wolfram Alpha’the Internets new computational knowledge search engine. Some say its the new Google with is new method of searching the Internet. Type any questions into its natural english search engine and Wolfram will display the computed results in a neat and easy format.  Read more here

Google apologised for what it called a “traffic jam” that resulted in slow service or even interruption on the internet search giant’s main page.

Gmail and Google’s news site were also reported as “sluggish” or unavailable to millions of users for about an hour.

This is not the first time the company has faced such problems.

“An error in one of our systems caused us to direct some of our traffic through Asia,” said Urs Hoelzle, a spokesman for the company.

“As a result, about 14% of our users experienced slow services or even interruptions,” he said. “We’ve been working hard to make our services ultrafast and ‘always on’, so it’s especially embarrassing when a glitch like this one happens.

“We’re very sorry that it happened, and you can be sure that we’ll be working even harder to make sure that a similar problem won’t happen again,” said Mr Hoelzle, Google’s senior vice president of operations.

First there was Napster, then iTunes. Here comes Spotify. To use spotify all you need to do is register for a free account and download a small application. However you will need internet connection for the service to work, as it does not download the music onto your system.

You can either listen to pre-defined play lists or search for your favourite artists.  The free service will play 30 second adverts every 45 minutes or so.

This is a great alternative to Internet radio as it lets you choose your play list. It can work on 3G mobile connection, but watch that bandwidth allocation. Netbook users with small storage will find this music service a great addition to their application store. Check it out at www.spotify.co.uk

An engineer in Cornwall delivered his baby son after watching a instructional video on YouTube.

Marc Stephens watched the videos as a precaution when his wife Jo started to feel some discomfort.

Four hours later, his wife went into labour and started giving birth before an ambulance could arrive at their home in Redruth.

“I Googled how to deliver a baby, watched a few videos and basically swotted up,” Mr Stephens told the BBC.

Jo Stephens said they had planned a home birth, but not quite in this manner.

“I woke up and realised I was having contractions every five minutes,” Mrs Stephens said.

“I woke Marc up and we phoned the midwife, but they were all so busy they couldn’t come round to our house and told us to call an ambulance. But before it arrived, it all started.”

Read the full story on bbc.co.uk

Here are some compatible phones:

Apple iPhone

• Apple iPhone version 2 or above
• Apple iPhone 3Gs

Microsoft is hoping it can avoid the negative press that surrounded the launch of Vista, the last major Windows release, almost three years ago.

Windows 7 has been designed to be compatible with Vista so users do not have to invest in new hardware.

A commercial release of Windows 7 is expected in the next nine months.

A test version of Windows 7 will be available to developers from Thursday, while the public can try it out from 5 May.