#Skydrive - 7 Gb free online storage!

Skydrive has undergone a large overhaul recently and is looking great, but below the good looks is a great product too.

Just compare the spec's with the other leading vendors and you can see that it is a real contender.

Simply sign in to the website with a Microsoft Live account (you probably already have one) and away you go!

SkyDrive Link

Samsungs first Windows 8 Phone released - ATIV S

Released at the IFA Berlin, Samsung released the first of their Windows 8 Mobile devices- The ATIV S

Here are some of the highlights:

• 4.8" screen
• 720x1280 pixels resolution
• 1.5 GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 Plus (Krait) chipset
• 16 GB or 32 GB storage space (additional MicroSD card slot)
• 8MP Camera - LED flash and 1080p video recording capabilities
• Windows Phone 8!

No release date or pricing yet....

Which is the best anti-virus

This is something that we are often asked and it can be a difficult question to answer.

Many people like to stick with the big boys like McAfee and Symantec as they have a proven track record.  Other decide on price but few actually compare the field. 

One reason for this is that it is really hard to find an independant test which compares all of the options and delivers this in a usable.

I have recent found http://www.av-comparatives.org who produce independant tests and award based on performance.

The 2012 test results are very interesting with top awards - 3 stars - going to some of the smaller players:

-BitDefender
-G Data
-Kaspersky
-Qihoo
-F-Secure

And some of the bigger hitters getting just 1 star:

-McAfee
-Sophos
-Trend Micro

Take a look at the following link for more info:
http://www.av-comparatives.org/images/docs/avc_prot_2012a_en.pdf

Windows Server 2012 - Due September 4th

SBS might be dead, but Windows Server is alive and kicking and its on its way! 

4th of September

Outlook.com - better than hotmail - part 1

Having scoured the Internet for something interesting to look at (interesting to a geeky IT nerd anyhow), I have found Microsofts new version of Hotmail.

First impressions are really good, with a clean design and instant integration with Microsofts web-apps (web based version of word, excel, powerpoint) and Skydrive with 7Gb of FREE storage...... WAIT A MINUTE.....

I have just checked and I have 25Gb of free space.... nice!

It also integrates with twitter and facebook and seems to be a decent single portal for most desktop users.

It looks better than the old trusty Gmail, so I am making a bold move and I'm going to import all of my emails (it tells me I can hold up to 4 POP accounts in outlook.com)

Seems simple enough, enter username and password and click go.....

fail. Ok try again...

fail. 

Log into Googlemail to make sure that my password is OK. it is.

Ah... a big red banner saying that my account has been accessed by an unusual IP address.  Go through the process of allowing that IP address and all OK.  Everything imported in seconds..

i will update in a week or so to see how I got on.

#VMWorld 2012 - Europe - Register now!

VMworld 2012 // 9-11th of october

It is going to be a big deal again this year and is being held in the US as I type.

Don't fret though, VMWorld is coming to Europe on the 9-11th of october and you can book yourself a place here: http://www.vmworld.com/registration.jspa

All of the major IT vendors will be there to tell you about their latest products including Dell, Cisco, EMC, HP, NetApp to name a few.

Get there!

Get Windows 8 for £14.99

Have you bought a Windows 7 PC lately?  If so, get yourself over to Microsoft and sign up for a copy of Windows 8 for just £14.99!

http://www.windowsupgradeoffer.com/en-GB

PC's bought between  2 June 2012 and 31 January 2013 qualify.

Windows 8 is due for release int he next couple of months and your new O/S will be shipped to you as soon as it goes live.