Archive for August, 2013

Our Customers

Posted on: August 26th, 2013 by Supportedge No Comments

All of our customers are valued at Supportedge, no matter what size your business is. We are determined to deliver competitive prices and efficient services to each and every one of our clients.

Supportedge has longstanding customers from a wide range of businesses of all different sizes. We work closely with such a diverse clientele to ensure that their technological systems suit their specific business requirements.

Check out our brief and our social media if you would like to read more about us and what we do, or contact us directly for a quote.

Green Computing

Posted on: August 26th, 2013 by Supportedge No Comments

Supportedge is an environmentally conscious workplace that practices what it preaches. Three things the average consumer can do and we encourage consumers to do, to reduce your business’ and households’ environmental impact are:

1) Recycle your electronic waste (e-waste): “Australians generate more than 140,000 tonnes of e-waste each year and most of it ends up in landfill,” as stated on the City of Sydney’s website. There is an e-waste depot that you can drop your electronic goods off in Ultimo, Sydney. It is open on allocated days throughout the year. For more information on what days the depot is open or to find out more about how to recycle your e-waste read this brochure from the City of Sydney’s website. Or visit Planet Ark’s website for your closest recycling facility.

2) Invest in long-lasting appliances and maintain them so you get a longer-life out of them: “You can save money and reduce energy use by buying the right appliance for your needs and using it efficiently. The position of the appliance, how you operate it and how you maintain it all affects how much energy is used – for example, placing your refrigerator next to your oven will make it work harder to keep your food cold. Leaving appliances on standby unnecessarily will also waste energy,” as stated on yourenergysavings.gov.au.

3) Buy technology that is energy efficient: “When you replace an existing product, think about buying an energy-efficient appliance that is right for your needs. The running costs of your appliance can add up to more than the purchase price and will impact on your electricity bill for years to come. Considering energy use in addition to purchase price and product features will save you money and energy as well as reduce greenhouse gas emissions over time. A lot of new appliances and some electronic equipment have Energy Rating Labels to help you with this,” as stated on yourenergysavings.gov.au.

NBN

Posted on: August 26th, 2013 by Supportedge No Comments

The NBN (National Broadband Network) is a Federal government initiative aimed at improving national internet speeds in an increasingly digital age. The NBN commenced its 3 year Australia-wide rollout plan in June 2013. NBN Co (a wholly-owned Commonwealth company that has been prescribed as a Government Business Enterprise) was formed in 2009 and contracted to implement the NBN.

What does this mean?
According to the Department of Broadband Communications and the Digital Economy: “the NBN will provide high-speed broadband access to all Australian homes and businesses through a mix of three technologies: optic fibre, fixed wireless and next-generation satellite.93 per cent of Australian homes, schools and businesses will have access to the NBN through optic fibre to premises, capable of providing broadband speeds of up to one gigabyte per second.”

This large-scale, Australia wide endeavor will connect 93% of homes, schools and workplaces with optical fibre (fibre to the premises or “FTTP”), providing superfast broadband services to Australians in urban and regional towns. The remaining hard-to-reach 7% will be connected to the NBN by fixed wireless and satellite technology.

The Federal government estimates that “more than six million homes and businesses will be able to access or be in progress to receive NBN services by mid-2016.”

For more information about the NBN, visit the Federal government’s NBN website.

Cloud Computing

Posted on: August 26th, 2013 by Supportedge No Comments

The “cloud” has become a household name in the past couple of years, but what does it actually mean and what can it do for your business and home?

According to info-world.com: “Cloud computing encompasses any subscription-based or pay-per-use service that, in real time over the Internet, extends IT’s existing capabilities… Cloud computing is at an early stage, with a motley crew of providers large and small delivering a slew of cloud-based services, from full-blown applications to storage services to spam filtering.”

Howstuffworks.com describes what cloud computing does:
“In a cloud computing system, there’s a significant workload shift. Local computers no longer have to do all the heavy lifting when it comes to running applications. The network of computers that make up the cloud handles them instead. Hardware and software demands on the user’s side decrease. The only thing the user’s computer needs to be able to run is the cloud computing system’s interface software, which can be as simple as a Web browser, and the cloud’s network takes care of the rest.”

An everyday example of cloud computing, that most people have encountered, can be found within web-based email accounts like, gmail, hotmail and yahoo. Your own computer only needs a browser like Internet Explorer to connect to the remote server that stores all your emails. The remote server in this case is the cloud.

The cloud is a broad term and its uses stretch far beyond webmail. Cloud services offer users such things as file storage (e.g. Apple iCloud, dropbox), spam filtering (e.g. Symantec, Mcafee) and faster website performance (e.g. Cloudflare).

So what are the benefits of cloud computing?

  • Users are able to access their files anywhere at anytime over the internet
  • File space is saved on your hard drives
  • Hardware costs can be reduced because computer processing can be handled via the cloud network rather than on the users end.

    • Want to know more about cloud computing? Get in touch with us and see how it can be of benefit to your home and your business.

    Google Maps takes street view to the zoo

    Posted on: August 26th, 2013 by Supportedge No Comments

    Google Maps Street View now includes images of animals from world famous zoos, including San Diego, Houston, Atlanta and Chicago.

    Read more on Hot Hardware or see the flamingos at San Diego zoo on Google Maps.

    TPG faces another court date for misleading advertising

    Posted on: August 19th, 2013 by Supportedge No Comments

    The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) have been granted an appeal by the High Court against the internet service provider TPG. The ACCC are arguing that TPG should be fined for running misleading TV advertisments from September to November 2010.

    Read more on the IT Wire here.

    ACCC reports a 65 per cent increase in online shopping scams

    Posted on: August 12th, 2013 by Supportedge No Comments

    With more than 50% of Australians turning to the internet for their shopping (according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics) there has never been a greater need for increased internet security and consumer awareness of internet fraud. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said that there were around 8,000 victims of internet fraud last year that cost these consumers an accumulated $4,038,479 in damages.

    Read more here on the Sydney Morning Herald’s website.

    AWPA report says: More Australians need to study IT

    Posted on: August 5th, 2013 by Supportedge No Comments

    The Australian Workforce and Productivity Agency’s ICT Workforce Study has revealed Australia might fall behind in technical innovation if numbers of people studying and working in IT don’t increase.

    Read more in this article on the Sydney Morning Herald’s website.