Facebook page added

Please join us by clicking the Facebook image. Feel free to make comments and ask questions.

New year – new operating system?

Happy belated new year everyone.

So, it’s 3 months since the launch of Windows 7 and it seems to proving fairly popular in our experience. Customers are actively seeking new laptops with Windows 7, rather than trying to avoid Vista and purchase XP. They are now taking the opportunity to buy new desktops with Windows 7 preinstalled, and people are also inquiring about the possibility of upgrading their system to Windows 7.

On the whole, the majority of systems that have Vista will be able to be upgraded. If anything, they will run better, as Windows 7 starts up quicker and runs more efficiently. A memory upgrade will help but is not always necessary.

Before taking the plunge and purchasing an upgrade disk, it is advisable to run the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor . Please note that you cannot upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 7. You will need to do a clean install.

It is advisable that you back up any data you consider to be important before attempting an upgrade, as there is always the potential for something to go wrong and you losing your data. A clean install needs everything to be wiped so a backup is essential. Programs cannot be copied using a backup, so they will need to be reinstalled using original disks or downloaded files. License keys and product activation will also be necessary afterwards, something that usually causes problems after clean installs, with people rummaging through drawers full of old disks in a frantic search for the originals.

The actually upgrade itself is usually pretty straight forward once the recommendations of the Upgrade Advisor have been followed (usually uninstalling incompatible software such as anti-virus), although it can take many hours, so be patient.

Once the upgrade is complete Windows 7 will have installed most of the drivers for your devices automatically and everything works!

Finchfield IT introduces hosted exchange services to small businesses

Finchfield IT are pleased to announce the launch of a service for small business users who want to be able to synchronise their email, contacts and calendars on their mobile devices with their computer at home or in the office. Users can also create shared calendars to share with colleagues to track appointments.

Why use Hosted Exchange?
Hosted Exchange is ideal for the small business user that wants to keep their devices synchronised without having to dock the device and manually synchronise. Email sent from the handheld will be in the Sent Items folder on their email client (eg Outlook). New contacts added will be listed in their address book.
Users also get access to Web Outlook and emails are automatically backed up on the server.

How much does it cost?
Hosted Exchange services cost £9.50 per month per user.

Finchfield IT helps the MoD to see the light

Finchfield IT were recently asked to install projectors, screens and sound systems in classrooms used by the MoD. Finchfield IT have been the chosen contractor for data cabling in the classrooms for the past 2 years and were asked to install new audio visual systems to impove existing setup. A competitive quote was provided and the contract was again awarded to Finchfield IT. The work was carried out with minimum fuss and signed off to a satisfactory standard.

[gallery]

October News

Windows 7 lands in Wolverhampton… and beyond!”
October can’t be allowed to pass without mention of the launch of Windows 7, the latest operating system from Microsoft. Having used it for the past 4 months or so, I have to say I quite like it. It’s much more lightweight and responsive than Vista, although maybe that’s not really saying much. The paying public also seem to think there’s going to be something worth payin for, with Amazon.co.uk reporting it to be the highest grossing pre-ordered product ever. Either people are believing the hype or they are all disgruntled Vista users keen to dump Microsoft’s latest equivalent of Millennnium Edition.

Farewell XP
The launch of Windows 7 now means Microsoft have withdrawn the sale of Windows XP. Finchfield IT’s suppliers only have a few copies left for sale, and we have already had several customers requesting installation of XP over their Vista installation, rather than opting to upgrade to Windows 7. XP has been a good stable system for the past 9 years but the time has come to move on. I’m sure many people will miss XP and it seems harsh to remove people’s choice. However, it would be difficult for Microsoft to continue to support 3 operating systems indefinitely. Updates and fixes for XP will continue to be released for 5 years, so you don’t have to ditch XP yet.

Of course, those people wishing to continue with XP for some time yet can always consider upgrading their current system to keep them going.

Latest News

Windows 7 to ship without Internet Explorer
Microsoft’s new operating system, due for release on October 22nd, will not have a browser installed. This is following Microsoft’s on-going court case with the European Commission in Brussels, in which Microsoft was fined 899m Euros for limiting the chances of other browser developers because Windows has Internet Explorer preinstalled. More about the court case here
Microsoft say they will make the browser easily available for download, and say they expect PC manufacturers to install a browser for customers. Could be interesting to see which browser the manufacturers opt for.

Virus Alert!!
A bit of common sense, but we’ve seen a few people caught out by this one again recently. If you get an email from DHL, UPS or any other delivery company regarding delivery of items, DO NOT open the attachment. It’s a virus. A delivery company will never email you an attachment regarding failure of delivery.

Finchfield IT News

Adoption Web Portal
Finchfield IT have recently won the contract to supply Adoption Black Country with a web portal to enable social workers to show approved adopters children waiting to be adopted. This enables social workers across the Black Country to upload details of children for potential adopters to view online. This enables the adoption agencies involved to have more up to date details for potential adopters than the current monthly magazine that is circulated.

Online Backup
Finchfield IT are now offering an online data backup service for £7.50 per month for up to 25GB of data. The backup runs constantly, meaning your work is backed up as you create it. No need for someone to remember to change tapes or hard drives at the beginning and end of the day. Your data is secure so that, in the unlikely event of fire, flood or theft, you can be back up and running with your data recovered from the backup servers. All data is secure and encrypted, and setup is through a simple, user-friendly interface.

Finchfield IT launches it’s new website

Finchfield IT launches its new website in May 2009.  The old site had done a great job in presenting Finchfield  as a committed, approachable and reliable home and commercial IT support  business.  We have moved to a customised Wordpress platform to allow for easier site updates and the ability to regularly post news updates.

We welcome any feedback and comment about our website.  Will plan to add and evolve content so please bookmark our site and come back soon!

Latest PC offers – May 2009

HP 6730s Core 2 Duo laptop. 2GB RAM, 160GB Hard drive, DVD+/-RW, Vista Business / XP Pro downgrade.

This is an excellent business machine with excellent specification to perform well with Vista. It also comes with the option to downgrade to XP Professional should you wish to do so.

Only £445 plus VAT.

Acer 17″ monitor only £69 plus VAT, including 3 year warranty.

Microsoft release Windows 7 for general testing

The new version of Microsoft’s new operating system, Windows 7, which is due for roll out in October 2009, will be made available for people to download and install from 5th May. This gives people the chance to install the new operating system to try out. Of course, this means users will eb the guinea pigs for Microsoft ahead of its release, with errors being submitted via the error reporting dialogue. This enables Microsoft to collate common bugs in the system and fix them before it get unleashed. Microsoft are keen to get it right with Windows 7, following what some people have considered to be a rather disappointing operating system release in Vista.

The download will be available from http://www.microsoft.com/download if you want to try it.
In my opinion it doesn’t look a great deal different to Vista, but the performance is better.

Transfer of files is certainly quicker and I like the addition of the netwroking features that make it easier to share files between computers and set up wireless networks (perhaps not so good for us, seeing as people will be able to do it for themselves more).

(Finchfield IT is not responsible for any content on external sites).