Archive for the ‘News’ Category

Apple’s worst keep secret has finally been unveiled. Rumours have been rife for almost 10 years suggesting that Apple would release a tablet based computer. Product “leaks” on Mac orientated websites in recent months have soared, prompting many to believe it was being announced soon. And finally it has, named the iPad.

Sky News reports:

Apple chief executive Steve Jobs has unveiled his new touchscreen computer called the iPad.
He said it was a “revolutionary” product that was between a laptop computer and a smartphone and was “awesome” for watching films and TV shows. The device will be available to buy worldwide from late March, with prices starting from $499 (£308) for the 16GB model,Apple said. But the Wi-Fi and 3G models of the iPad will cost about a fifth more, and will be delivered in the US and “selected countries” in April. Speaking at a news conference in San Francisco, Mr Jobs said: “We want to kick off 2010 by introducing a truly magical and revolutionary product. “All of us use laptops and smartphones now. “The question has arisen lately – is there room for a third category of device in the middle, something between the laptop and the smartphone?” And then, to a round of applause, he showed off the new iPad, which has an on-screen keyboard, is half an inch thick (1.3cm) and weighs 1.5lb (0.7kg).

The device is 13mm thin, weighs 680g, 9.7″ IPS display, full multi-touch, 1 GHz “Apple A4 chip”, 16, 32, or 64 GB flash storage, 802.11n, Bluetooth, accelerometer, compass, speaker, mic. 10 hours battery life. One month of standby battery. A 3G model will also be made available.

Watch this space for further iPad news and reviews as soon as hear of any.

Apple have today released an update to its Boot Camp software which allows Windows to be installed and run on Intel based Apple Mac’s. The update includes support for running Windows 7 on a Mac.

Apple’s website states:

Mac OS X is the world’s most advanced operating system. So advanced, it even lets you run Windows if there’s a PC application you need to use. Just get a copy of Windows and start up Boot Camp. Setup is simple and straightforward — just as you’d expect with a Mac.

What’s New in this Version

This update adds support for Microsoft Windows 7 (Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate), addresses issues with the Apple trackpad, turns off the red digital audio port LED on laptop computers when it is not being used, and supports the Apple wireless keyboard and Apple Magic mouse.

This update is highly recommended for all Boot Camp 3.0 users.

The update is available through Apple Software Update for Windows or at their downloads page. Links are as follows:

32Bit Windows
or
64Bit Windows

A hackers “blueprint” code enabling access to Google email accounts has been released to the public via the Internet. Sky News reports:

“Computer users in France and Germany have been told to temporarily avoid using Internet Explorer as their web browser after a code used to hack Gmail accounts was leaked online.

Security experts are warning computer users throughout the world to be highly vigilant after the code was published on the internet.
The hack involves Internet Explorer 6, the browser that powers millions of business and home computers.
The security flaw was used to access Google mail accounts in China last week and led to Google threatening to abandon its Chinese search engine.
The code was originally posted to malicious software analysis site Wepawet. Security site Metasploit then posted a demonstration of how easily the code can be used to gain complete control over a computer.
George Kurtz from security firm McAfee said: “The public release of the exploit code increases the possibility of widespread attacks using the Internet Explorer vulnerability.
“This attack is especially deadly on older systems that are running XP and Internet Explorer 6.”
The French and German governments have advised people to avoid using all versions of Internet Explorer until a patch is released to fix the hole in Microsoft’s browser.
But Microsoft’s UK security chief Cliff Evans has downplayed the problem.
“The reality of the risk is minimal, even if you have IE6 you would have to go to a website running the exploit,” he said.
“The net effect of switching [from Internet Explorer] is that you will end up on a less secure browser.”
Microsoft said customers using Internet Explorer 6 should immediately upgrade to Internet Explorer 8.
Thomas Baumgaertner, a Microsoft spokesman in Germany, said the attacks on Google were by highly motivated people with a very specific agenda.
Referring to warnings not to use the browser, he said: “These were not attacks against general users or consumers. There is no threat to the general user, consequently we do not support this warning.”
Experts warn that as many as 30 other companies have been hacked, including software firms like Adobe.”

If you are concerned over your IT security or require assistance upgrading Internet Explorer or Windows XP, please contact one of our consultants on 0845 180 0000 or support@barttech.co.uk

The March release of Microsoft Visual Studio has been postponed until April due to a few minor bugs as reported by WinInsider:

“No biggie here, but Microsoft this week delayed the release of its next software development suite, Visual Studio 2010, from March 22 until April 12. (Also delayed is the accompanying release of the .NET Framework 4 APIs for developers.) According to the software giant, beta testers have found a couple of problems that the company would like to resolve, so it’s pushing back the release by three weeks.”

Visual Studio is Microsoft’s software development package aimed at creating software using programming languages such as C++.

Listening to the weather report last Tuesday night, I’m sure that, like us, many businesses feared the worst. Wednesday morning came and Britain was covered in that lovely white stuff which brings the fun of snowballs and snowmen but also seems to bring the country to its knees.

With two Barton Technology keyholders snowed in and the other on holiday, we were forced to close our office for the day. Being a service company this would have been disastrous if it wasn’t for our tried and tested disaster recovery plan.

At 07:30 Wednesday morning once we had decided travel to the office was impaired we instigated our plan. Within half an hour all incoming phone lines were transferred, staff were informed they would be working from home and full remote access to the systems was in place.

We were fully operational even though the office was out of action. Good job too, as this situation lasted until the end of the week. In fact many clients could not even tell that Barton was affected at all.

For us this is all about practising what you preach. We have been implementing disaster recovery solutions for businesses for over a decade. A disaster does not have to be snow, it could be fire, flood, theft or any conceivable event which may impair your business from operating effectively. We offer a full portfolio of services including advice, planning, documentation, implementation, training and most important – regular testing!

I’m glad to say we are back to normal now, but with more snow forecast over the coming weeks and months, I would highly recommend having a discussion with us on how we can help your business cope when a similar problem occurs.

That hangover is hopefully starting to wain and the excesses of the festive season are almost a long ago memory…

The New Year has begun and all of us at Barton Technology are very excited about what the new year holds.  Our road-map for the next 12 months is packed full of exclusive product launches, new services and even our first ever technology seminar.  You can count on us to ensure your business is always one step ahead of its competition by using IT and telecoms effectively.

Keep tuned to this blog and register for our regular e-newsletter at http://www.barttech.co.uk to keep informed.

We hope you have a fantastic and prosperous New Year,

All the best,

Dominic and all the team