Technology Continues to Evolve
As the year rapidly draws to a close I can’t help but reflect on what it has meant for us working in the IT field. There have been heaps of new or refined technologies released in the form of both hardware and software and we can’t overlook all of the web developments that are continuing to take place.
There are now all manner of portable web enabled devices around including the latest trend to be able to browse Internet and receive emails to your watch? Agent 86 Maxwell Smart’s shoe phone may have been more discrete but lately it seems that people want to check their emails and social media status without being constantly on the hop.
The range of tablets has expanded with new models arriving in both smaller and larger screen sizes and all the while getting thinner, lighter and more powerful. Many of these manufacturers are now pushing separate Bluetooth keyboards as an option for those wanting to actually type on these devices. Although I still doubt the worth of a tablet compared to the latest convertible laptops that still offer a proper attached keyboard.
There is also a strong push to give laptops greater battery life and this has seen a slight processing power reduction in the latest crop of laptops compared to ones of just a year ago. It is extremely hard for portable device manufacturers to offer both power and good battery life and lately they are tilting the compromise scales toward the battery life goal.
Desktop PC’s and servers have generally continued their normal trend of increasing in power however the ultra-small NUC (a PC box that bolts onto the rear of a computer screen) has further eroded the performance boundaries between desktop PC’s and laptops. If you only want basic computing power and a nice large desktop screen then a NUC may be the answer however only the most powerful ones approach the performance of a standard desktop PC.
There is no doubt that Windows 10 can be seen as the most major software release of the year and it has not been without its critics. We adamantly say that it is the best desktop operating system that Microsoft has released thus far and it runs beautifully when installed freshly and configured correctly. However it has created plenty of angst when customers have tried to upgrade to Windows 10 on older PC’s that were already running lots of software.
Business customers and the less technologically minded home users should not attempt the upgrade to Windows 10 themselves but should enlist specialist help from companies such as ourselves. They are after all getting the software upgrade from Microsoft for free! It should be looked upon in a similar vein to getting a brand new engine for your car for free. You just need to pay a qualified mechanic to actually install it and connect everything up.
2016 has also seen heaps of development in web based software and storage facilities. We are now been offered all manner of web storage options for our photos, documents, databases, music, movies and some of these offerings are free. Being able to properly take advantage of cloud storage still largely depends on whether you have an NBN style internet connection and of course whether you trust your most valuable data to a company or individual that you have never even met!
If someone is trying to sign you up to a Web based storage facility or software package you need to ask the tough questions of exactly where is it stored, how secure is it and who actually owns the information stored there.
Future Byte Me topics can be emailed to [email protected] and Bruce is contactable at Kerr Solutions, 205 Musgrave Street or on 49 222 400.
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