Contact us
Tel: 01263 862610
(Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm)
Email:
Swap styles
The Josh.biz website uses a single stylesheet to dictate how pages are displayed. Swap stylesheets using the buttons below:
 
Inspired by
CSS Zen Garden
|
|
The Josh.biz Blog
Posted: Wednesday, 23rd June, 2010, Category: Tips and advice
 I often visit clients who don’t have the luxury of a dedicated in-house IT technician. As a result of this, PCs are often not serviced regularly, if at all. Nor are any basic ‘housekeeping’ tasks undertaken.
One particular issue which all PC owners can take charge of themselves relates to the cleanliness of the inside of their computer box. These can be easily accessed by undoing a few screws (or latches) and once every 6 months it’s a good idea to ‘jet blast’ the interior components and circuit boards with a pressurised air canister. Don’t use a vacuum cleaner! There are dedicated products for doing this. These can be purchased online and from the obvious outlets such as Maplins and PC World.
Computers require a constant flow of air to keep temperatures at a safe working level. However as the fans constantly pass air through the machine, this inevitably builds the interior up with dust and all sorts of other rubbish (e.g. pet hairs and dead insects).
If the detritus is permitted to build up it could eventually cause operational problems and lead to overheating. In some cases it could pose a serious fire risk.
When did you last clean the inside of your PC?
Posted: Tuesday, 8th June, 2010, Category: Apple iPhone, Technology News
Back in April we featured a sneak look at the new iPhone version 4. Today, Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, formally unveiled the iPhone 4. It features an even slimmer design, a front facing video camera for video calls, a more detailed screen, an inbuilt gyroscope and a faster processor. Read about the iPhone 4 at the Apple website.
iOS 4 – The new name for the iPhone operating system
Also coming soon will be the next version of the iPhone operating system, now to be known as iOS 4. This is advertised as ‘coming soon’ and will also be available for the iPhone 3GS and 3G (but some of the key features will be unavailable to the older 3G version). Multitasking will allow multiple apps to run at the same time. Apps can be handily organised into folders, desperately needed for those suffering from screen after screen of apps. And you’ll be able to customise your home screen background. Read more direct from Apple about iOS 4.
Personally, I’ll be stuck with my 3GS for the time being which I’m still loving to bits. I wonder if the sleek pebble design of my 3GS (shown below) might still have more aesthetic appeal than the rather chunky design of the new iPhone 4 (shown above). You’ll need to handle one to confirm the truth of this.
The iPhone 3GS
Posted: Monday, 7th June, 2010, Category: Tips and advice
 Both my office and personal email address have received an email offering the free download of a new ‘version of Acrobat Dynamic PDF Reader 2010′.
This is a bogus email which is likely to infect your PC with a trojan virus if you follow the advertised link. Note that there is no program called ‘Acrobat Dynamic PDF Reader 2010′. You are best to delete this email immediately.
The bonfide program for reading PDFs available from Adobe directly (for free) is called Adobe Reader. This can be downloaded from http://get.adobe.com/uk/reader/. But please note that if you already have this software installed (usually the case), it usually updates itself when required.
Posted: Saturday, 29th May, 2010, Category: WordPress
 Clients running WordPress (content managed) websites will be pleased to hear that a major new release of WordPress, version 3 is due for release any time now. It offers lots of new features, allowing web designers to do even more with WordPress. This popular CMS (content management system) and blogging tool just keeps getting better! Clients effected will be contacted if and when necessary.
Once WordPress version 3 is released, we’ll be completing our in-house WordPress online user guide.
Posted: Friday, 14th May, 2010, Category: Josh.biz News, Website Launches
To coincide with the 200th edition of local magazine, The Holt Chronicle, Josh.biz has designed an online forum for local discussion and announcements. The website launched yesterday and we hope that it won’t be long before new members are signing up and the discussion boards take off. The website also provides an ideal place to disseminate local news and events.
Josh.biz launches our 100th website!
By coincidence, the Holt Chronicle Forum website is Josh.biz’s 100th website since the business began 5 years ago. So we’ll be celebrating this weekend too.
Visit the Holt Chronicle Forum!
Posted: Thursday, 13th May, 2010, Category: Comment, Tips and advice
 Google’s own browser software, Google Chrome is giving Internet Explorer and Firefox a run for their money. Statistics show that it’s share of the market is increasing and feedback from those who use it is very positive. Having revisited this web page browser and used it for the past 2 weeks exclusively, I have to agree that it’s very impressive. I strongly recommend Google Chrome. It’s our favourite browser and here’s some of the reasons why:
- It’s very fast. Compared to the other popular browsers, Chrome starts up almost instantly and delivers web pages for your viewing at record breaking speeds.
- It’s easy to use. The Chrome interface is clean, simple and straightforward. New users can pick it up very easily. And, it has some great features which you’ll notice once you’ve tried it.
- It’s easy to customise. The default blue theme is in my opinion a little overpowering, with it’s bright blue title bar. However, head over to https://tools.google.com/chrome/intl/en/themes/google.html and you apply a new theme of your choice (also accessible through the program options). The program options are very easy to explore and understand.
Read More »
Posted: Sunday, 9th May, 2010, Category: Technology News
Apple iPads will go on sale in the UK from 28 May and will cost upwards from £429 (depending on the storage capacity and networking options available). The iPads are eagerly awaited with 1 million sales in the US already.
Read more on this story at The Guardian.
Posted: Sunday, 9th May, 2010, Category: Technology News
 As the popularity of smartphones and touch screen devices continues to rocket, up until now the Apple iPhone has been the only serious choice. And since Apple abandoned the iPhone’s exclusivity to O2 customers, sales have increased. But the cost of the handset is still off putting for many. For example, if you sign up to a 2 year £30 per month contract with Vodafone, you still have to pay £150 for the iPhone handset.
Enter the HTC Desire
The HTC Desire has been labelled as an ‘iPhone killer’. For a similar £30 per month contract, this handset comes free. But as well as being more affordable, is it really better than the iPhone as is suggested by many reviewers?
Well, it appears that it might be! At PC Pro magazine, the HTC Desire has knocked the iPhone off its A-List position for premium smartphones. The winning factors are its fantastic screen and Flash technology support (the iPhone controversially continues to deny Flash web content – read more).
If you’re in the market for a new smartphone but don’t want to shell out for an iPhone, the HTC Desire should be a top contender. As ever with mobiles, I always advise that you try and see one first. I think we’ll be seeing a lot more of these around so this shouldn’t be too difficult before long, especially with HTC now running some high profile television advertising to catch up on its brand awareness.
The advent of a luxurious and economic alternative to the iPhone could see the mobile web becoming even more popular too, something I’ve been anticipating for several years.
Related Links
Discover more about the HTC Desire direct from HTC
Read the full review of the HTC Desire at PC Pro
|
Facebook’s dismal attitude to privacy has been coming up a lot lately. If you have a Facebook account, try looking yourself up (log off Facebook first). As well as showing your profile picture to the public at large, the Google result displays the names of random Facebook friends. I even found my Facebook profile picture being displayed on a third party website. I would have expected Facebook to have made this impossible.
Britain gears up for VAT increase
But if you’re thinking of shopping for some large purchases imminently, you might want to make your purchase before the 22nd June as prices will inevitably rise. The photo shown opposite was taken at Bakers & Larners of Holt who are already advising their customers to shop now. And don’t forget to fill your petrol tank up too!
Update (23rd June 2010)
Following yesterday’s budget announcement, VAT has been confirmed as rising to 20% as widely anticipated, although the increase won’t come into effect until January. This might encourage spending ahead of the increase, especially in the run up to Christmas.