Who is going to benefit? when will we get it? and if we don’t live within the planned rollout areas then will we still have to fund it with higher charges? Short answer “YES” – we hear that even if you are still on Copper or Aluminium to home but Fibre from Exchange to Cabinet then you may be funding the rest of the nation’s upgrade because you are supposedly on Fibre!

Yes we have access to low price internet within the United Kingdom but it all seems a little misleading? We hear about Fibre, High Speed Internet Access, Superfast Fibre broadband. True in a few cities but still millions of us are paying no less and yet we can barely send an email without delays.

Ofcom proudly announce that the Copper network will be replaced but hey! “what about those of us who are still on Aluminium” Yes Aluminium, not even Copper to the house but still paying for Fibre!!!

Our company in the East Riding of Yorkshire has severely lacked the ability to provide some services required while relying on internet technology. The following Internet providers ALL failed to supply the speeds they promised us but they were ALL happy to charge for the higher speed they NEVER gave us. Lucky we were able to prove their failure to provide services sold to us. In turn making those contracts void.

BT, PLUSNET, TALKTALK, SKY, VODAFONE, POST OFFICE

Our advice to you as the consumer is to re-evaluate and compare what your paying. Check your speeds against the promises ISP’s make to you. Check out these sites to check your internet speeds. Openreach, speedtest.net, fast.com, If your speeds don’t coincide with your contract then make a complaint, make them sort it or compensate you.

On the other hand in light of the likely price rises you may need to consider signing up for a longer term fixed price contract to avoid the inevitable price hikes!

As a consequence of broken promises we have thrown in the towel with land based Broadband Services. We have now started beta testing the SpaceX Starlink Satellite Broadband Service. Presently approximately 1’000 low flying Satellites are offering High Speed Internet with latency close to comparable to Fibre based products. The system is still in it’s infancy and not without it’s issues however we have achieved speeds between an average of 50-180mbps with a one time high of 680mbps. The SpaceX plan is to increase the orbiting satellites from 1’000-40’000 satellites within the next few years. Only yesterday a further 60 satellites were sent into Space and what’s amazing is that we can view these from an App so if the connection drops out for a few seconds we anticipate when coming back again.

#WYSIWYG

computercareuk

All-round I.T services for business and the general public. Founded Selby, North Yorkshire, February, 1997

computercare.co.uk

In a nutshell Apple Mac’s can be prohivitably expensive, Windows PC’s less reliable, Linux in part for free.

We are often asked if Apple is more stable than a PC with Microsoft Windows. Well, there is a little truth in this, however, there are a few factors to bear in mind. Windows systems allow more software applications to run on their computers. While this is an advantage it also makes the system more prone to a crash due to some 3rd party software. Furthermore are your workforce trained or able to use Apple? Will you need to purchase additional equipment and software due to compatibility issues? So our view is simply whatever best fits the customer needs will be the best choice. Occasionally you may hear about Linux based computer systems. Linux can certainly be a cheaper option as most software is “open source” therefore free to use. On the downside, you may be hit with inter-compatability issues. For hobbyists Linux can be fun and contributing to software development can be rewarding. Our opinion? If run as a server it can be much cheaper to install and maintain versus Microsoft Windows Server. Linux workstations can be used in a commercial enviroment but the downside may be training your staff at an added cost.

Some interesting links helping you choose what you need

Apple Mac’s

Dell Computers

Linux Operating Systems compatible with most PC’s

Ubunto – SUSE – RedHat

computercareuk

All-round I.T services for business and the general public. Founded Selby, North Yorkshire, February, 1997

computercare.co.uk

In the past 12 months or so we have witnessed an approximate 20% hike in computer prices. With the world climate as it is there are few surprizes.

It’s not all bad if you choose the correct machine

There is no such thing as a one machine fits all and it really depends on what is it’s purpose?

How much does a decent computer cost ?

this will depend on your needs, your patience and how often you intend to replace it. If you seriously only need a machine for internet and email then you could consider a low end machine. The question is would we reccomend a new Laptop below £450.00? Seriously? Honest answer? You may wish to call a friend first? We would not ! why???

Have you considered upgrading your existing computer? It may be a good time to do so!

while any decent new machines have faster processors they also have Super Fast SSD Hard Disks! but hold on! the prices for these previously expensive Hard Disks have dropped to an affordable level! what this means is that your old Laptop or PC can be given a new lease of life for the fraction of the cost! Okay it’s not going to be comparable to the latest Intel or AMD Processors but you are likely to be amazed what changes an upgrade can bring to you.

computercareuk

All-round I.T services for business and the general public. Founded Selby, North Yorkshire, February, 1997

computercare.co.uk

Let’s give a couple of examples:

Computer One is new with only a version of Windows, Antivirus suite and an Office suite. After a few weeks the computer starts freezing up. This is not normally what one would expect after such a short time. Therefore, before we look at this machine, we will approach it with an open mind, not dismissing a possible hardware fault.

Computer Two is a couple of years old with the latest version of Windows and fully up to date. We have the usual Antivirus suite and Office suite and other applications which have been added during it’s time. The computer starts playing up. A programme won’t load or it ends with an error message. In this instance the first assumption would be a software error. We would start by looking at what programs are installed (especially what we would call 3rd party apps). We would also be looking into recent software and driver updates.

The moral of the story here is that Computer Two is way more likely to ask more questions. Why? because the variables involved could become astronomical. For a system that’s already fully backed up we may have the option just to re-install the computer and the programs we most need. Add to this the backed-up data and we are likely to have a machine running as well as it ever has. However! what if! The data needs backing up first? or the customer no longer has their licence keys at hand? or we no longer have any passwords to access the email and the ISP (Internet Service Provider) isn’t picking up the phone or just blaming our computer. What if our first attempts at fixing the problems don’t work? Could it be hardware or software? How do we distinguish between an application crashing through a hardware fault or software conflict? We would like to say, we can look at the error messages or logs but in practice this rarely gives us the full picture. Programmers have a duty to input “error handling” messages into their software but far too often these messages are generic and they can easily send us in the wrong direction. There are many other issues caused by software which will work under one condition while other software requires a different condition. This can cause a crash.

It would not be an exaggeration to tell you that an anticipated 5 minute solution could potentially take days if the cause(s) are found to be hidden away. Yes this happens but this is not something our personal computer customers need to worry about. At all times, all customers are kept up to date by text or call.

Our next blog will explain what you as a customer can do to reduce downtime and what you can do to make our job faster and potentially cheaper.

computercareuk

All-round I.T services for business and the general public. Founded Selby, North Yorkshire, February, 1997

computercare.co.uk

authentification errors

It can be a simple as an incorrect username or password which fails to send or receive email. Authentification errors may occur at any time but it’s not always what you think.

corrupted accounts

email accounts can easily become corrupted at either your side or server side. Removing the account in your client software and re-instating the account may fix the problem. Even asking the ISP (internet provider) to delete the account and re-instate at their end has solved many of these problems for us.

database fault

it’s relatively common for an email database to become damaged. In these instances a database repair may be necessary.

windows updates

windows updates can both fix problems and security on your computer but it’s quite common something may stop working after an update. These errors are not an issue with email alone but rather with any part of your software or hardware. A windows system restore may or may not rectify these problems.

email servers – changed

ISP’s – Internet Service Providers occasionally change their mail servers and they will often shut down old servers. This can prevent you from collecting email until you update the servers on your computer. It seems certain ISP’s do not warn us before changing servers.

user errors!

Yes we all hate to admit it but we sometimes forget our passwords and therefore the problem may be our own doing. As security becomes more and more necessary we are having to hold a lot of data in our own heads. Through time and with different security requirements for different Apps we can soon lose track. As technicians we are often told that this or that is the password only to find that we hit a brick wall. Thereafter we attempt to recover the password yet we are not sure which one of the family setup the account in the first place. If we don’t get it right after a few attempts then we may have to wait hours before we can try again. Worst thing is when companies like Microsoft or Apple lock you out for days with no set time for the recovery. Having a secondary email account such as with GMAIL will at least tide you over.

password managers

many of us are now using password manager software to help us keep on top of all our security. These apps can work well so long as they are from a trusted source.

computercareuk

All-round I.T services for business and the general public. Founded Selby, North Yorkshire, February, 1997

computercare.co.uk

You don’t always have to buy a new PC. Make that call because we may just have the solution for you. With new SSD drives we can make it work for you. Read our previous blog or follow this link to get an idea of the difference between older disks and the much faster and lighter SSD drives

computercareuk

All-round I.T services for business and the general public. Founded Selby, North Yorkshire, February, 1997

computercare.co.uk

The following table covers some of the advantages and disadvantages taking into account that Windows PC’s come in many different specifications, therefore, we base this list on similar hardware specifications.

computercareuk

All-round I.T services for business and the general public. Founded Selby, North Yorkshire, February, 1997

computercare.co.uk