Expert computer and network support for the Wigan area
If you're after help with your computer systems - PC's, laptops or network, then we're here for you. We are proudly based in the centre of Wigan and cover a 25 mile radius taking in Manchester, Liverpool, Bolton and Preston.
This is the blog of mytechie written by Steve, Jude and Chris, covering aspects of the different work that we do.
You can find out more about us here, and by following us on Facebook and Twitter.
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What’s in store for 2011? We go all “mystic meg”
Posted Wednesday, January 5th, 2011We’re all looking towards the new year and what 2011 has in store for us. In the world of gadgets and technology there’s always something exciting around the corner – but what about this time next year? I’m going to stick my neck out and make a couple of predictions about what will happen over the coming year in the world of gadgets, technology and the internet. The world of smartphones and tablet PC’s will continue to converge. With exciting new products based on next year’s upgrade of the Android phone system, we’ll see more devices like the Samsung Tab competing against the iPad. With techies developing for the massive iphone and Android markets the Windows Mobile devices will be irrelevant this time next year (so, no change, really!) On the internet we’re going to see the fall-out from Wikileaks with governments clamping down on websites. This is happening already in America and it’s just a matter of time before it happens here. We’ll also see more bit-torrent... Read More
Don’t let your business become frozen in the snow!
Posted Monday, December 6th, 2010Much to the dismay of our children, it seems that we’ve escaped the worst of the snow, well, for the moment that is! However the change in weather has been a timely reminder that systems for working at home should be in place and they are quick and easy to set up. Businesses in Yorkshire and in the south have lost millions from the bad weather over the past few week – and it’s just a matter of time before it really hits us. From simple remote desktops to full blown secure virtual private networks (VPN’s) – we use them ourselves and we’ve helped many of our clients to find and use the best options for their businesses. For a convenient and secure connection to your office you don’t need to be breaking the bank. If you run a server, or have a reasonably smart router for your broadband you may already have the equipment needed to set up a VPN. We can take a look at what you have and advise you what to do. If you want to arrange an appointment then... Read More
My PC was a teenage zombie!
Posted Wednesday, October 27th, 2010
This Halloween, don’t let viruses and malware turn your PC into a zombie! Reports this month from Microsoft showed that over two million computers in America have been infected and turned into “botnet” machines. Botnets are massive networks of infected machines which are controlled centrally – an estimated 12 million infected machines worldwide (McAfee).
Botnet infections can suck the processing life from your computer. Machines that used to whizz through work are turned into slow, lumbering cases. A shadow of their former selves. Not caring a jolt about what you want, they’re too busy doing work for other people.
Have you ever wondered why people infect computers? It’s no longer down to rebellious teenagers kicking out at the world. Viruses, malware and infections are... Read More
Techie Tutor opens the door to a whole new world
Posted Wednesday, October 6th, 2010It may seem like an overstatement, but if you’ve never used a computer before pressing the “on” switch for the first time can be a cripplingly intimidating experience. We recently started working with a couple, Mrs & Mrs H, who had just acquired a laptop for the first time, and wanted some “hand-holding” to get them started. They didn’t want to call on friends & family as Mrs H has a variety of challenges, which makes learning new skills harder for her. Plus, they’d rather spend their time with friends & family relaxing and enjoying themselves, which at the moment doesn’t describe their relationship with computers. The challenges? Mrs H had an accident a few years ago which left her with very serious life-threatening injuries at the time. She has largely recovered, but was left with short term memory loss – which makes learning new skills harder – and severely impaired vision. At the same time, she is an intelligent woman who gets frustrated at... Read More
New disk formats – what’s in store for XP users
Posted Monday, September 27th, 2010Time is marching on and we’re getting closer to the mainstream launch of hard drives with the new, larger, sector sizes reported earlier in the year. Back in March it was widely reported that sector sizes on very large hard drives was being increased from 512 bytes to 4096 bytes to save administrative space on a drive and the opportunity for slightly faster drives (some interesting info here. Windows XP, however, only understands block sizes of 512 bytes and the new drives should only work in emulation mode. Consequently, the newer drives are expected to be about 10% slower for XP users because of the extra steps needed to write information to the disk. Yes XP has long passed it’s lifetime, but it remains the most used operating system in the world. Many, many people will still be using it ten years down the line. Indeed, we have some business customers who stick to Windows 2000 for some machines because their software continues to work (and we occasionally see some home... Read More
