A recent study commissioned by Google has found that the internet is worth £100bn a year to the UK economy or 7.2% of the UK’s gross domestic product (GDP). Plainly this is one of the most flexible and creative uses of English prose since Gordon Brown last inserted the word ‘prudence’ into a sentence. After all, to what do we attach a value – Gas, or the pipe that carries it? By way of a clue,
Down the Pipe or Down the Pan
25/11/2010 By Leave a Comment
A Friend in Need
25/11/2010 By Leave a Comment
One has to feel a little sympathy for the Irish as they give in to the inevitable and go cap in hand to the rest of Europe for a trifling £100bn or so – equivalent to about £15,000 or so for every member of the population. Fortunately, we don’t need to deliver the cash on the back of a lorry – there just aren’t that many ferries running from Fishguard to Rosslare – it would take an age and give a new meaning to the phrase ‘Bay of PIGS’.
Are you Crowing or Crawling
25/11/2010 By Leave a Comment
Does your IT support, nurture and facilitate your business ambitions or is it about as helpful, present and profit orientated as Bob Crow with Man Flu.
Bring me Sunshine
27/08/2010 By Leave a Comment
Already we are 100 days into the new political age of open consensual action from Dashing Dave and Slick Nick. We’ve had all the predictable “its even worse than we thought” briefings and slowly but surely the severity of the required reparative measures are being drip fed to an entirely suspecting public. However whilst Dave ‘n Nick might skip along Downing street like a yellow sun against a blue sky wearing Morecambe and Wise style ‘Bring me Sunshine’ smiles; the proof of the pudding will be in their ability to deliver tempest and storm without being held liable for the damage. [Read more...]
Points of Few
27/08/2010 By Leave a Comment
Never in the field of human commerce has so much been entrusted, by so many, to IT. (with apologies to the great man for illegitimising his oratory). 70 years ago the RAF pulled off, what was, in fact, a somewhat unlikely victory against a numerically far superior force. Historians have given much of the credit to the organisational prowess of Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Caswall Tremenheere Dowding, who, not content with winning the annual contest for the most gratuitously upper class name in public life, also… [Read more...]
The Password Enigma
27/08/2010 By Leave a Comment
“Please enter your password.” *********
Sorry, the information is incorrect, please re-enter your password ensuring your caps lock is off.
Forgotten your password? Please answer the following security question: What was the inside leg measurement of the Milky Bar Kid look-alike that always wanted to sit next Bernadette Bletherton at your first school? [Read more...]
What’s new in IT? Windows 7
13/08/2010 By Leave a Comment
In case you don’t already know, Windows 7 is now out. Some of our favourite features include:
- HomeGroup – Share files and printers on a home network without the headache
- Jump Lists – Get speedy access to your favorite pictures, songs, websites, and documents
- Snap – Enjoy this quick new way to resize and compare windows on your desktop (as seen on TV)
- Windows Live Essentials – A suite of great programs you can download free, including: Mail, Movie Maker, Photo Gallery, and more
- Windows Search – Find virtually anything on your PC, instantly
- Windows Taskbar – Better thumbnail previews, clearer icons, and more ways to customise
- Add personality – You can redecorate your desktop with fun new themes, slide shows, or handy gadget
- Improve performance – Windows 7 goes to sleep and wakes up more quickly, is less memory hungry, and spots USB devices faster
- Play To – You can play your media on other PCs, stereos, or TVs around the house
- Windows Touch – Pair Windows 7 with a touchscreen and you won’t always need a keyboard or mouse
For more information, please phone Nicky Hodges free on 08000 323 400 (free) or 01737 824000 or email nicky.hodges@tlptech.co.uk.
5 ways to make your computer run faster
13/08/2010 By Leave a Comment
1. Free up disk space with Disk Cleanup
You can improve the performance of your PC with the Disk Cleanup tool. It identifies files you can safely delete, such as temporary Internet Files (web pages saved in the cache), unwanted downloads, temporary Windows files such as error reports, optional components and programs that you don’t use, and shadow copies from System Restore. 
Disk Cleanup gives you the choice of whether to delete some or all of these unwanted files. You can also use it to empty the Recycle Bin.
2. Speed up response with Disk Defragmenter
If there is no room on your hard disk to save files and folders in one piece, they are saved in separate sections or fragments. When you go to open the file or folder, there may be a delay while the computer searches the hard disk to piece all the fragments together. Use the Disk Defragmenter utility every month to consolidate fragmented files and folders. We also recommend you run it each time you add a large number of files, if your free disk space totals 15% or less, or when you install new programs or update Windows. [Read more...]
Brief history of computers
13/08/2010 By Leave a Comment
“I think there is a world market for maybe five computers”
is a remark commonly attributed to Thomas J Watson, Chairman of IBM in 1943, even though there is seemingly no evidence that he ever said it.
Calculating machines have been around for centuries, from the abacus of 2400BC to the slide rule and pocket calculator of more recent decades. [Read more...]
A to Z of computer jargon: E & F
13/08/2010 By Leave a Comment
We hope you’re enjoying our alphabetical jargon-buster so far? More definitions will follow next month.
Email: Short for Electronic Mail. A wonderful invention (except for the scourge of spam!) The first email message was sent between two computers in 1971. Billions of emails are now sent and received every day. If you would like to privately comment on this blog, you email me at nicky.hodges@tlptech.co.uk. Alternatively, you can leave a public ‘reply’ below. [Read more...]
