Welcome to the December Edition of That's Correct!
There is no doubting that Christmas is only days away now and may we take the opportunity to send you our warmest wishes for the Festive Season and the New Year. We hope whatever you are doing on Christmas day, your hours are full of good cheer, friends and family.
This year, Correct Solutions was proud to support Woodbury Autism Education and Research through our annual Christmas card mail out. Woodbury aims to make available to the autistic community of NSW teaching strategies that are scientifically proven to maximise the likelihood of children with autism reaching functional adulthood. If you are interested in making a tax deductable donation to this fantastic charity you can visit their website for further details.
- Ryan gives us his wrap-up and highlights from this, the last year of the decade.
- SSD: Not another Acronym! So what is an SSD and do you need one? (You may certainly want one, after reading this!)
- How long have you been staring at your monitor? This is your opportunity to push back from the computer, get up, shake it all about and have a well deserved mini-break! You know you want to!!
I almost feel like I open the yearly wrap up with the same line...
What a year!!!
This year has seen stimulus plans to combat the GFC like we have never seen before, 3 federal opposition leaders, the release of Windows 7 and in only a few short days it will be Christmas and then the end of a decade. That's right, the 00's or "nooghties" as they call it will be over, and then it will be ‘bring on the new decade’!
A big thank you goes to all of our clients for the year; I would also like to specifically thank Stemar Electrical products for being a part of not 1 but 2 case studies for us in 2009. It was their rollout that helped us make the finals of the Microsoft Small Business Solution Partner of the Year Award, we have also just finished a full video case study that will soon be featured on the Microsoft website, so to Sten and Marcus a big thank you.
Next year we would love to feature another client, would you be interested?
As mentioned above, Windows 7 has finally been released, and what a difference. Its speed is amazing, even with older hardware! UAC or User Access Control is no longer annoying and actually does its job, and on top of this, software compatibility is almost a thing of the past when you can run Windows XP virtually in the background for any of the applications that don't just work with Windows 7.
2009 saw growth and recognition for Correct Solutions in the IT Industry; we are particularly proud of having been awarded places in the CRN “Fast50” and the SmartCompany “Smart50” awards.
Next year looks like it's going to start out rather busy, we have now scheduled in our first and second Essential Business Server (EBS) installs. In a nutshell, EBS is the big brother to SBS in that it is designed for companies with up to 250 computers.
We will also be involved with 2 more Technology Adoption Programs (TAP); we did this with SBS 2008, where we deployed the new version of the software out to a client before it was officially released. At this stage we can't discuss the TAP's we are a part of, but as soon as we can there will surely be something in our newsletter. What we are at liberty to say is that there are a few very exciting products in the pipeline, so stay tuned for more details!
Finally I want to thank all the team, without the dedicated staff we have at Correct we wouldn't be where we are today. I would like to wish everyone a safe holiday break and a fantastic New Year.
All the best,
Ryan
Laptops are now coming with options that include something called a Solid State Drive (SSD), instead of the normal SATA hard drives. Why would you want to pay the extra money for a system with an SSD is a common question.
To understand a little more, let me explain. Traditional hard drives use spinning disks inside them that store all your data. The heads that read the data from the disks float microns above the disk and are NEVER allowed to touch the disks. To cater for mobile environments, manufacturers have configured G force sensors into the hard drives to pull the heads off the disk the moment that a quick movement of the laptop is detected. In addition to this, the disks are spinning all the time which means that the laptop is constantly consuming power and shortening the battery life.
SSDs on the other hand are electronic disks with no moving parts. They consume less power and are not subject to the problems with movement and G forces that normal spinning drives are. SSDs are now options in many of the laptops available.
Recently I replaced the hard drive in my laptop. My aim in doing this was to give me more freedom as I carry my laptop around a lot when I’m out on site with clients. Since replacing the laptop, I’m now more comfortable in general carrying it around on site without fearing a head crash and loss of data. I’ve also seen that the battery life has increased a lot. I’m yet to run out of battery in a day whereas before I would get around ¾ through the day and need to plug in to recharge.
Next time you are looking for a laptop, consider the choice of an SSD if it’s available as it will give you a totally different outlook on how you will use it.
Without sounding like a community health warning (because they aren't much fun), we would like to dedicate some time to the importance of your health and safety while you are working on your PC.
This is your opportunity to push back from the computer, get up, shake it all about and have a well deserved mini-break! You know you want to!!
Carpal Tunnel and other scary stuff...
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome occurs when the median nerve, which runs from the forearm into the hand, becomes pressed or squeezed at the wrist. It is a debilitating, progressive condition that has been linked to the repetitive strain caused by bashing the keyboard for long intervals and hanging onto a mouse all day.
Back pain, bad posture, deep vein thrombosis, neck and eye strain have also been linked to long idle periods at the mercy of our computers.
A great excuse to get up from your desk!
It is recommended that computer users take breaks a few times a day to perform stretches and exercises that may look and feel silly but are designed to relieve the tension that can build up during the working day. Simply going for a short walk up and down the office combined with a regular set of stretches can help minimise the effects of computer overuse.
Here are a few to try:
Before you start any exercise program, consult your GP or Physician if you have any concerns or injuries. Relax, be gentle and avoid over-stretching. Stop if you feel any discomfort when doing the exercises.
For a complete list of exercises and instructions, you can visit the source of this article...
That's all for this month! If you would like more information on any of these articles, please give us a call on 02 8831 8200.
