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Just a quick review of our last poll ‘Do You Have A Webcam?’  30% of the voters do have a Webcam.  We were surprised that a staggering 70% don’t have a Webcam.  We understand that a percentage of these voters may be business readers, but that is still a huge figure.

Webcams are great pieces of equipment to have and open up a new world of communication.  For instance, you could use Skype to communicate with people all over the world, and instead of just talking you can see each other too!

My first impressions then of Windows 7 are very good.  It is much like Vista but it almost seems like a more intelligent operating system, if there can be such a thing.  Things that we have always wondered why we can’t make them more easy have been made easy.

There are a lot of graphic and layout changes; albeit often small they are still there.

The only problems I have encountered so far is that IE8 crashes from time to time (no change there) and also when viewing the Games folder one the start menu it tends to hesitate before loading the logos for the games.  Nothing huge and I am sure in the final release this will be fixed.  For a beta version I think it is very nearly complete!  Maybe that is why Microsoft has said that they won’t be releasing a beta 2!  So bring on the RC1 version.

For noobs this is a review of what you are likely to use and notice, for power users you will want to go a bit further…but then you will have probably downloaded Windows 7 yourselves.

If they don’t do anything stupid in the RC1 and/or final release then I will be putting this on a few machines in the office when it is released for sure!

See Also:
Windows 7 Beta – First Glance
Nice and Simple – Windows 7 Features

Last months poll was asking who backed up and the results were interesting! Most people that voted do apparently backup up, but almost as many people have said they don’t! And then half as many say they sometimes backup. Let’s be honest, sometimes means…we think about it but never get round to doing it!

Having a computer break down is bad enough but loosing irreplaceable data is devastating for anyone, photos that can’t be recreated or business data that if lost could cripple the business.

With so many backup tools out there and portable hard drives now available for around £50 for 250 GB there is no real excuse!

Browse our backup posts here, and watch out later this month for a post of our top 3 backup external drives.

Together we can save you’re data!

SyncToy 2.0 is a free software download from Microsoft.  It is a Backup Tool and very very simple to use.  Click to Download SyncToy 2.0.  The download itself is fairly small so doesn’t take long to download on the typical Internet connection.  The installation process is again straightforward and isn’t very time consuming.  The software is extremely user friendly and couldn’t be any simpler to use.  In fact, it’s so simple my Nan who learnt to change a battery 4 years ago would be able to use it!

The key element to the software is pairing folders, e.g., folder A and folder B.  With the folder pairings you can choose one of three processes:

• Sync – Where any changes made in folder A are copied to folder B.  And any changes made in folder B are copied to folder A.
• Echo – Where changes made in folder A are copied in folder B, but any changes made in folder B won’t be copied to folder A.
• Contribute – Very similar to Echo.  Where changes made in folder A are copied in folder B, but any changes made in folder B won’t be copied to folder A.  However, you cannot delete in either folder.

SyncToy is a great little application which I am very impressed with.  Have you used it before?  What do you think of it?  Any questions?

See Also:
SyncBackSE
Backup Tools – Two Worth Looking At
Cobain Backup 9

A few weeks back we reviewed SyncBackSE and we thought maybe some of you might prefer free backup software, which is where Cobain Backup 9 comes in.  Cobain Backup 9 is a software designed to backup the files etc on your computer, and can be downloaded for free!  The download is small so it doesn’t take very long and the installation process is very simple and quick.

Creating tasks for the tool to do couldn’t really be much simpler.  You select add task from the task menu.  Then you have the option to do many things, for example:

• Name the task (E.g. My Documents Backup)
• Select what you would like to be backed up (including particular files as well as folders and drives)
• Select where you would like the files backed up to
• Select when you would like the files to be backed up and how often
• Encrypt or Compress the backup

Cobain Backup 9 also allows you to clone tasks.  This means that you copy all the characteristics of a task to make a second task of the exact same nature.  Then you can edit the task to adapt it to your demands.  For instance, if you want to create a very similar task to one which has already been created, simply clone it and then edit it.  A great tool.

In our opinion Cobain Backup 9 is a great tool, it’s not necessarily up to the standard of Second Backup, but Cobain Backup 9 is free!

Any questions?

So we have had Firefox 3, Google Chrome and on the horizon is Internet Explorer 8! At the moment there is a beta version out which we have been playing with. We would like to remind users that beta versions are really only for designers and developers or those more competent computer users. This is because it is not a final version and there is a possibility of some stability issues!

If you think you are one of those users then take a look at the IE8 Beta download, otherwise it is best to wait for it to be properly released, but if you want to read about what is different then take a look at the office IE8 site.

We have been playing with the beta and like it very much, which means a lot considering we are BIG Firefox fans! Some pages which don’t work too well in IE7 now work properly in IE8 which is brilliant! In our eyes they have fixed the CSS layout issues, we also think it is quicker than IE7 which can’t be bad, there are a number of nice new features which we could talk about but read properly about them all here, a couple that stand out to us are the InPrivate browsing and also the SmartScreen Filter.

This is just a short post highlighting this new release of Internet Explorer so we won’t be reviewing it properly until it has been released, but well worth keeping an eye on we think!

Today we got to play with the Skype Phone Netgear SPH101. In February we looked at the ideas of non USB Skype phones, specifically the 200D which is a phone with a special unit to connect into your router. This SPH101 is the model down from the 200D.

Hardware

The Netgear SPH101 phone itself is well made, feels sturdy and looks good. It is easy to use and the software seems to be very logical, but before you go and buy one read on…

Call quality

Unfortunatly this is where the phone is let down significantly. On trying the phone connected to three different wireless networks we found that the call quality was terrible, constantly cutting in and out, the person at the other end could not be understood.  Unfortunatly it is a no goer on this one for us. We are quite keen to test the 200D though and see if that is a better solution!

So on this short review we would advise against the SPH101 but would love to hear anyone who has positive experiences with it!

Last week I installed Sky Broadband for a client and I thought at the time it would be useful for people to know how easy the install process is, the features the modem offers and a general experience. So starting today I will be reviewing the broadband installs that I do, one from each supplier as we do the install and more than one if we come across different modems!

The Modem

So let’s go, Sky Broadband. A while ago I installed Sky Broadband for another user and they were sent a Netgear modem, this client however had a Sagem Wireless Modem Router, looks good, stylish, dark grey device, quite small.

The router has 4 Ethernet ports, however Sky states that the two yellow coded ports are for computers and the other two ports (red and blue I believe) are for features currently in development.

The Install

Being me I ignored the fact I was meant to start with the disc and just plugged the kit in as I knew was right and tried to access the web interface of the router. However none of the default usernames and passwords that work with other routers worked with this one. That was rather disappointing and Sky don’t provide you access to this router. Which for techies I would expect to be a pain.

So that aside I threw in the CD and followed the process through, it was nice and simple, animated and somehow less mundane thn the usual Broadband installation discs I get to see. So for techies and novices alike that process was nice and easy. Possibly the easiest I have come across. It does however brand your Internet Explorer “provided by sky” and add a couple of links to your desktop, which is why i try to avoid the disc’s for things like this in the first place!

At the end of the process you are connected! Nice and easy.

Wireless

If you want to connect a machine wirelessly you do this after the process. The code is on the bottom of the router, which seems the norm these days. The signal strength put out by the router seems to be fairly decent for the average household.

So there we go, my review of installing Sky Broadband with the Sagem router, and to summarise:

1. Use the disc! Don’t try to be clever
2. Setup is nice and easy, just do as the disc tells you and you will be online in minutes.
3. To connect wirelessly after you have completed the setup, the key is on the router!

I hope this helped, Let us know if you have any experiences of your own.

Before using a new product it is always helpful to know what users of it really think. That is the reason for this todays blog. There are many blogging tools available, some free like WordPress and others costing some of your hard earnt cash. So is WordPress really any good? Well here are my thoughts…

I haven’t been using WordPress too long but I have spent a lot of time with it over the last couple of months, from setting up, customising and generally playing with its capabilities. The first blog I released powered by WordPress was the Brandstar site, follwed by this pc toolbox site and there is a third non IT site on its way!

Ultimately I think it is an amazing tool and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to friends, family or clients. But why do I think that, is the most important question!

Firstly the Basic Install – Even if you just use the basic installation of WordPress without changing the theme or adding any plugins it boasts with a huge number of excellent features.

• Ease of use – within a few minutes (literally) you can be posting your thoughts on your own weblog. The only experience you really need is the ability to fill in an online form.
• The ability to have static pages as well as your blog really makes it more than just a blogging tool.
• Easily link to other bloggers with the “BlogRoll”.
• Spam prevention checks users comments to keep your site clean and tidy.
• User registration.
• Multiple Blog Administrators, Authors and Editors.

So out of the box the is plenty to get started with.
Themes – There are a huge range of free themes for WordPress that can be very easily installed, as simple as 1.2.3

1. Download your chosen theme
2. UnZip the downloaded theme
3. Upload the theme folder to your WordPress directory (you will need an FTP program to do this, I like Filezilla)

Plugins – To make more of your WordPress blog there are a huge number of plugins available, here are a few we have installed on PC Toolbox:

• Sociable – allows you to add the links to bottom of your post enabling visitors to share your post on some of their most favourite sites such as Digg.
• Adsense Deluxe – allows you to add GoogleAds to some / all of your posts.
• WP Polls – A Polls plugin built with Ajax. Easy to install and use and works well.

Fantastico – Many web hosts running a variant of linux have Fantastico installed which enable a very easy installation of WordPress in the first place, so users need very little knowledge of websites to get it installed. Need a webhost for this? Visit Brandstar’s webhosting company Wildhosting.co.uk and they will get your sorted.

Any questions or thoughts just leave a comment!

Happy Blogging

For years I have not found a decent backup utility but over the last 20months I came across two, they are like London buses, you wait ages and none come and then there they are…all in a line

Memeo and SecondBackup are the utilities and I will look at them separately as they are both good in their own ways and suitable in different ways for different people.

Memeo – I came across this by accident when I ordered a Buffalo Drivestation it was on the disk that came with the external hard drive. It is very simple to install and setup and it runs in the background backing up as you go. So you are nearly always 100% backed up if the computer is on and the drive is connected. The utility also allows you to register an account with Memeo to backup to their online service, an excellent way of keeping data stored off-site. You don’t have to buy a Buffalo External hard drive to get the software, you can buy it direct from Memeo.

The software also has a very useful One-Step Data Restore utility with a shortcut created on your desktop when you create the backup profile.

It is not free but at the same time it is free and you can try it for 30 days before you commit to buying.

SecondBackup – I came across this program when I needed something a bit different from Memeo. SecondBackup allows you to create a backup profile which consists of a selection of files/folders that need to be backed up, the location, the backup start time and the frequency. It also allows multiple profiles so for example you could backup your photos every Monday to 1 external hard drive, and your music to another external hard drive on a Tuesday.

SecondBackup seems to work incredibly quickly and a feature that Memeo doesn’t have is that it can backup from an external network location. So one setup we have is the software installed on a Small Business 2003 server backup data from a shared folder on an old Novell server. Which works brilliantly!

As I said both programs backup in different ways, so it is very hard to say which one is best. But if I am honest I am leaning towards SecondBackup, however if Memeo worked for me and I was buying a Buffalo drive then I wouldn’t buy Memeo as well.

No excuses not to backup when these two programs make it so easy!