Alert: Be careful when thinking about buying a Microsoft Surface Pro in Australia.

Recently I visited a new client and fixed their EeePC which was running Windows XP. They said they were considering purchasing a Microsoft Surface Pro. I said it wasn’t released yet in Australia but they believed they’d already seen it. What I’m now seeing is a lot of advertising around Windows 8 tablet type devices and people are most likely going to be sadly disappointed. Many of the advertisements I see on TV don’t mention the processor and people could easily end up with an Intel Atom processor running at significantly slower speeds compared to the Intel i5. Be careful that you check out and understand the specifications for the device. Retailers generally just want to make a sale and will generally not be forthcoming with information which could harm the sale unless you specifically ask the right questions.

Right now Microsoft have not announced the release date of the Surface Pro for Australia and they are still saying it is to be announced. Given that nearly six months ago they announced end of January when the Surface Pro would be released, Microsoft are showing very poor form with their ability to deliver. By the time they deliver the Surface Pro it will only be a couple of months until the next model is released. This is very similar to Nokia releasing their model 900 Windows 7.5 mobile phone in Australia, which was superseded shortly after.

Now is not a particularly good time to get a Microsoft Surface Pro because Intel’s Haswell processor, which will have lower power usage, is expected around the middle of the year. When the Haswell processor is released we can expect to see the current model of the Surface Pro obsoleted with the new processor in a new model of the Surface Pro. It may be a good time to put off purchasing a Windows tablet until the market settles, or you are happy with the specifications for the model you wish to buy. For example I’ve just noticed a much lower cost Atom based Windows 8 tablet recently and at the right price, it will be right for some people. Just make sure you know what you are buying. There is currently quite a bit of confusion in the marketplace for Windows tablet type devices and people could easily be disappointed.

 

Kelvin Eldridge

Online Connections

www.OnlineConnections.com.au

Call 0415 910 703 for computer advice and support.

 

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MyAnswers: The government site www.ASIC.gov.au doesn't work with Internet Explorer 10

The following MyAnswers solution 2321 is now available:

The government site www.ASIC.gov.au doesn't work with Internet Explorer 10 when using their connect site. This is how I set Internet Explorer 10 to work.

Click here to obtain the solution.

Click here for related solutions.

Kelvin Eldridge
www.MyAnswers.biz
(An Online Connections service.)

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Make sure your paying a fair and reasonable price for professional services.

As an IT consultant I charge an hourly rate for my services which I feel is fair and reasonable.  I look for ways to save money for clients wherever I can, whilst still providing an appropriate and professional solution. The cheapest solution can sometimes come back to haunt you but not always, but paying the dearest is no guarantee of value either. What is fair and reasonable for one person is not fair and reasonable to another. Some people feel they should get everything for free whilst others are more than happy to pay a fair and reasonable amount. Both the customer and the supplier need to achieve a fair and reasonable outcome.

However what I don’t think is right is some of the practices I’ve seen over the years in consulting organisations.

For example I saw one accounting firm charge secretarial support staff out at ten times their salary. A common practice across many industries is to quote the services of a senior person and then to provide a lower cost staff member to complete the work. An IT company where management called a general meeting and then when staff asked where to allocate their time to, were told to allocate the time to their customers. I was told that one major accounting firm when staff couldn’t allocate the full number of hours, they would allocate the remaining hours across their clients. I saw one accounting firm charge $50,000 for three days of work, because instead of charging for the time involved, they charged a set fee. Some of these businesses are the top businesses in the industry so don’t just think it is the no name businesses that are involved in these practices.

Fixed fees are a bit of a catch twenty two. At least you know what you’re up for, but keep in mind the business isn’t going to risk losing money, so they’ll build in a large contingency. That can mean paying twice as much or more.

Ultimately you have to decide how much a task is worth to you. Make sure you understand what you will receive and how much it will cost.

A good approach is to test a business with a small task and then work out if you’re happy with their charges and the information they provide about what they’ve done. For example I record all times and clients are welcome to the timesheets which include start/stop times and descriptions for all activities. Many businesses will roll up the time into a single figure and you have no idea of how the figure was reached. Also don’t get too complacent. I’ve seen one business charge good prices for computers at the start and since the client didn’t question their prices after a couple of years, the supplier was then charging around 30% more than the general market.

A good consultant is there for you and whatever they do on your behalf should be fully transparent. You are paying good fees so you should expect they should work ethically and honourably, but unfortunately that is not always the case. Ultimately it is up to you to make sure you look after your interests and to surround yourself with people you can trust.

Kelvin Eldridge

Online Connections

www.OnlineConnections.com.au

Call 0415 910 703 for computer advice and support.

 

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In the site log for one of my sites today I noticed Google image robot (Googlebot-Image/1.0) trying to access images that aren't even on my site.

I recently set up the site www.PetrolCostCalculator.com.au as a calculator for others to access and determine the cost of petrol for a given distance. What was weird is that when I checked the logs for the site I see entries such as /images/numbers/red/9.png with the agent string being Googlebot-Image/1.0. The Google image robot can’t find the files because they aren’t there and in fact they’ve never been there.

At first this was a concern as how could Google possibly think those files exist on my site when no such files ever existed.

The answer to this perplexing problem is provided in MyAnswers solution 2320 which can be found here.

Kelvin Eldridge

Online Connections

www.OnlineConnections.com.au

Call 0415 910 703 for computer advice and support.

 

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MyAnswers: TrueVector Service has encountered a problem and needs to close.

The following MyAnswers solution 2318 is now available:

A client received the message "TrueVector Service has encountered a problem and needs to close" and was unable to access the internet to send and receive emails.

Click here to obtain the solution.

Click here for related solutions.

Kelvin Eldridge
www.MyAnswers.biz
(An Online Connections service.)

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Internet Explorer 10 for Windows 7 is now available for Australians.

Exciting news.

Internet Explorer 10 for Windows 7 has now been released by Microsoft and is available for download. I’ve downloaded and installed Internet Explorer 10 and also installed the preferred Australian English spelling file I provide to clients and it works as expected. Now thousands of secondary spelling variations which exist in the standard Australian English dictionary provided by Microsoft, will be marked as spelling errors. Now “mom” for example will be marked as a spelling error, as will the many “ize” spelling variations, American spellings and errors I’ve identified in the standard dictionary.

At last the preferred Australian English spelling can now be made available to Internet Explorer 10 users on both Windows 7 and Windows 8.

In the next couple of days I’ll update the instructions for Windows 7, but for those who can’t wait, go to http://www.australian-dictionary.com.au/internet-explorer/ and purchase a copy of the preferred Australian English spelling file. The steps to install the file are the same.

 

Kelvin Eldridge

Online Connections

www.OnlineConnections.com.au

Call 0415 910 703 for computer advice and support.

 

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Nokia 520 release date for Australia not yet known

Nokia has announced their lowest cost Windows Phone 8 mobile phone called the 520. I've found that Australia isn't usually in the first round of countries to get new Nokia mobiles. With the Nokia 900 it took up to six months to reach Australia, and shortly after the mobile was obsolete having the older version of the operating system from Microsoft. More recently the Nokia 620 was a couple of months, so we can probably expect the same with the 520.

What is interesting is Nokia is now providing a considerable range of prices for the consumer from around $1,000 and now down to this mobile, which appears could be priced under $200.

With the lower price some features are removed or have lower specifications compared to the more expensive models, which is to be expected. The main features I've noticed are the lack of a front facing camera and a flash. The screen has a lower resolution and no polarizing filter.

Overall however the specifications indicate a good compromise for the price. I look forward to seeing a unit when it arrives in Australia.

Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 if you require help with your computer.
No problem too small.

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