If you need a website built, updated or maintained, or if your computer(s) is playing up, you've come to the right place! Feel free to contact us for some ideas.

Why is my computer running slow? 11.11.09 //

The overwhelming question we're asked about Windows XP computers with a problem is that a computer is running very slowly and doesn't respond properly anymore. There are many reasons why this could be happening. The computer may need more general and regular maintenance, or a clean-out of unused temporary files, have a lack of available free hard disk space, clogged up with old programs, and many more causes. There is a wide range of "self-help" things you can do for yourself to make life a little easier. One of the best articles written on the subject can be found here. In addition to the suggestions in the PC World article try the following:

    - Delete unnecessary temporary Internet files via the Control Panel
    - Free up disk space (anything below 20% free space will noticeably affect performance)
    - Run a defrag via the Control Panel to re-index and clean files and programs
    - Uninstall old unused programs and unnecessary Windows Components
    - Think about moving old data files and folders to external drives (e.g. thumbdrives, external HDDs)
    - Think about adding more cheap RAM memory (anything less than 1GB RAM nowadays is a compromise)

Keep in mind that as operating systems and programs have to upgrade, and patches and security fixes etc are issued, the complexity and processing stress on your once-compatible computer system will increase to a point in the future when it becomes too much for your old hardware to handle, regardless of the above maintenance efforts, and consideration must then be given to upgrading your hardware to newer systems better designed for "modern" software and their extremely high-level processing loads. Upgrading is inevitable.

If all else fails then get in touch with us!

Latest News 27.5.07 //

The last six months has seen a burgeoning requirement for database-based website packages, and we've spent many late hours refining our Joomla! skills to add the system to our portfolio. Consequently we have our first live Joomla!-based website live and kicking! Go to the Portfolio link to see what we've been doing.

Stay tuned for the next websites to appear on the Internet; all very exciting...

Microsoft Vista & Office 200723.7.07 //

We've all seen the adversiting, we've also gone into the computer stores and seen the lack of variety on the shelves. Yes, the Vista and MS Office 2007 marketing bandwagons have taken over those shelves, and we have very few other options now available

This is just a reminder for those thinking of jumping into Vista that, exactly like XP's launch before it, the early days are proving to be massive headaches for users and technicians alike. Until the majority of the teething problems are ironed out by using Service Packs etc our advice is to stay away from the exciting new packaging until the headaches have been fixed or you'll end up highly frustrated and without much technical support just yet.

Rest assured that Vista, down the track, is going to be a potent and viable option once its serious security and compatibility issues are sorted. Stick with the system that you currently use but keep an eye on the latest software reviews. The best is no doubt yet to come

Internet Explorer problems 30.5.07 //

There has been plenty of talk in IT circles recently about the problems in viewing web pages using different browsers. On conducting research it turns out that Internet Explorer has gone the way of many American products and hasn't ever fully followed "W3C" World Wide Web Consortium standards for html programming and web pages. You'll notice that some pages that don't view properly in compliant browsers such as Firefox and Opera have been written solely in Microsoft's products; hence not compliant with world standards.

The safest way to follow international standards and attain consistency is to switch to W3C products such as Firefox and Opera. The safest advice that can be given to web programmers is to consider W3C standards and be creative accordingly!

Speaking of which, there are still some security, compatibility and access issues in the fairly new Internet Explorer v7. Given the option don't install IE7 just yet as there are still plenty of bugs, and once it's on your Windows operating system it's there for good and you can't go back to v6 etc.