Smart Office

Menu

Sarah Falson

Envirosys Developer Wins Telstra Business Award

by

A corporate custom software solutions provider from the Northern Territory was among the companies awarded an honour at the 2007 Telstra Australian Business of the Year Awards last night in Sydney, in one of the most competitive years ever in the event’s 15-year history, according to the organisers.Darwin-based SRA Information Technology which provides systems analysis, website and web-based application development, IT strategic planning along with training and support received the top honour as the Business of the Year along with the AMP Innovation Award for its Envirosys product which enables organisations in the government, mining and oil sectors to capture, monitor and analyse environmental impacts affecting their businesses.

The company tied for first place with a gourmet food manufacturing company from Bangalow in Northern New South Wales. 
Telstra chief executive officer Sol Trujillo and business group managing director and Telstra Business Awards ambassador Deena Shiff presented the awards in front of almost 500 guests, including award winners and finalists from around Australia.

“Telstra believes that Australian small to medium businesses are among the best in the world and is committed to supporting their growth and development by providing the tools they need to realise their potential,” said Shiff.

 

“World class networks, including our Next G wireless mobile broadband network are helping businesses become more competitive, save time, connect with their customers and improve productivity.”

Asus And Vodafone To Launch 3G And GPS Notebooks

by

PC- and notebook-maker Asus will be launching a range of sub-$2,000 notebook computers in the next month with embedded 3G modules in partnership with Vodafone, the company revealed in an address to journalists and industry-professionals at the annual Influence consumer electronics and IT conference today in the Hunter Valley.The notebooks will come pre-packaged with a Siera Wireless SIM card, which users can either hook-up to a Vodafone plan in which case they will receive a $250 cashback grant from the service provider, or any other mobile phone provider of their choice.

The company views the market for both 3G and GPS-enabled notebooks as a growing area in the next three to five years, said a representative today.

Though the GPS models will not launch this year, the company is researching heavily in this area.

 

“These days GPS is a device that shouldn’t be restricted to the car – you don’t want to leave it in the car anyway because it could get stolen,” he said.

“We need to incorporate it into more products rather than a standalone GPS system. Imagine using Google Earth and being able to map out your photo album – GPS is becoming incorporated in digital cameras along with mobile phones and laptops are next.”

According to the Asus representative, the company has already manufactured a range of trial notebook models with built-in GPS that it is testing in partnership with child protection services in the US.
 

In the meantime, the company’s 3G-enabled models will be sold through mainly IT resellers rather than mobile phone outlets.
Asus also has Wimax-enabled notebooks penciled in for release in Australia next year.

Acer To Support Both Blu-ray And Rival HD DVD

by

Computer-maker Acer will be supporting both Blu-ray and HD DVD high definition disc formats in its new PC and notebook offerings, which will be released to the Australian market in time for the Christmas gifting period.

The company did not reveal if there would be a dual-drive model of its ultra-small form factor notebook.

Acer senior product manager, Henry Lee, spoke today at the Influence Forum at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in the Hunter Valley in New South Wales and revealed the brand’s views on today’s forum topic, ‘The Evolving PC’.

“Notebook growth is very strong, but still the PC is not dead,” he said, in reponse to discussions that the consumer demand for notebook computers would eventually reveal the PC as an outdated model.

 

“The PC market is still growing, though not as quickly as the the notebook market, just in different ways,” said Lee.

According to Acer, the key to providing momentum in the PC market is to “evolve” the model, with both new technologies and new designs.

“The PC is moving closer to the main area of the household, where the sound technologies and the aesthetics of the unit matters more,” said Lee.

 

“Consumers still want desktop performance, but they also want an all-in-one device with a TV tuner, photo and video editing software, and all the capabilities of the home theatre.”

Acer views the movement of the personal computer into the loungeroom as an entertainment ‘hub’ as key to the evolvement of the medium, but rather than hedge its bets on one or the other high definition disc format, the computer giant is incorporating both Blu-ray and HD DVD disc drives into its new Christmas models.

“The evolvement of the desktop is becoming a ‘home server’. Hard drives are becoming bigger, and optical storage is hugely important. This year we’ll see Acer computers with both HD DVD and Blu-ray drives becoming strong before Christmas. Acer will have a number of products supporting both formats,” said Lee.

 

“Consumers want widescreen capacities in their notebooks and their PCs and this is pretty much becoming standard. Windows Vista operating system is more friendly to widescreen formats as well.

“Consumers enjoy using the PC and the notebook with varying degrees of usage — watching movies is big and will continue to be so in the future.”

Video Downloads Gaining Popularity

by

The number of paying users visiting online video download sites has grown tremendously in the last year with Australian users seemingly addicted to downloading televisions shows after they air in the US.

The number of households now using the service in the US has reached 12 million, which is a significant increase from the three million households downloading video content between 2005 and 2006, according to Parks Associates research.

Local news and entertainment download service Bigpond has seen a massive increase this year in video downloads, according to Bigpond CEO, Justin Milne.

What’s apparently appealing to Australian users is being able to download television shows shortly after they air in the US.

Milne is confident that this trend is set to continue despite some blockbuster US television shows now airing almost simultaneously in Australia to the US due to growing demand.

 

“The availability of higher-quality content and a significant base of products like the iPod that allow for more seamless content-to-device linkages have provided a boost to the online video space,” said Parks Associates US-based vice president and principal analyst, Kurt Scherf.

However, Scherf also claims that past failures in the digital video delivery network market could inhibit future growth.

“With issues surrounding content rights, the role of incumbent video providers, business models, and questions about how consumer electronics manufacturers and other service providers will actually succeed, the space is very fluid at this point,” he said.

Sophos Claims Hackers Hijacking YouTube

by

IT security company Sophos is advising computer users to be wary of spam from YouTube after it identified various instances of spammer using the popular video-sharing website to promote their own products and online services.

By inserting their spam message into the ‘comments’ section of the ‘invite-a-friend’ page on YouTube hackers are able to send various spam notices at once using the service.


Click to enlarge
An example of an email sent by one of the spammers.

The emails discovered by the form claim to come from the address service@youtube.com, yet they advertise unrelated businesses such as matchmaker websites and offer prizes such as the coveted Halo 3 game for the Xbox 360.

“Normally spammers take over innocent people’s PCs to send their unwanted messages across the internet. In this case, however, they don’t need to do that. Instead they are using a website to relay a message on to their intended audience,” said Sophos senior technology consultant, Graham Cluley.

 

“The criminals are hoping that by embedding themselves inside a YouTube email they will be able to slip past spam filters at the recipient’s email gateway.”

Sophos doesn’t rate the spammers’ tactic, however, reporting doubts that it will generate any revenue for the companies.

“This is hardly the most compelling example of a spammer advertising his wares to an internet user,” said Cluley.

“It may be an effective way of waltzing past some spam defenses by hiding under YouTube’s overcoat, but chances are that most people will simply erase the message in their inbox and not visit the site. Nevertheless it doesn’t require many positive responses for the spammers’ efforts to have been worthwhile.”

Spice Up Your Home Office Display

by

Acer is upping the ante in the home PC realm with a new range of LCD monitors called the P Series designed to maximise multimedia enjoyment with high quality displays and attractive, sleek chassis.

The widescreen monitors are developed for web-browsing, word processing and home entertainment applications including gaming and viewing and editing photographs and home movies with enhanced graphics and display technologies. 

“The new P Series was designed for sustained use, and is sure to please those who demand text and graphics clarity,” said Acer Computer Australia display product manager, Gaba Cheng.

“The Series offers the best visual experience combined with the style and looks necessary for the modern home environment.”

 

The Acer P Series features a specialised technology called eColor Management which adapts the performance of the panel to different environments and lighting conditions. Two of the models feature a 2000:1 contrast ratio and a 5ms response rate, with HDCP support.

The range features keen attention to aesthetics with black glossy outers and an attractive V-shaped design.

The P Series comes in both 19- and 22-inch models and is priced from RRP $399 to $549.

ALP Slams Gerry Harvey’s “Agenda”

by

The ALP has reacted strongly to a proposal put forward by Harvey Norman chairman, Gerry Harvey, to go further with its industrial relations policy by cutting foreign workers’ wages by 50 per cent, according to a report from Sky News.

Harvey claims this would provide a cheap opportunity for companies to hire labour, and would also stop manufacturers from moving their sites offshore.

Unions NSW secretary, John Robertson, said Harvey’s plan is “part of big business agenda to work with the Government to go further on IR if re-elected,” said Sky News.

 

Microsoft Slashes Hardware Prices

by

Microsoft Hardware is offering a 25 per cent cash-back promotion on its webcams, mice and keyboards, as an incentive to drive sales in the lead-up to the peak Christmas selling period.

The offer also coincides with the company’s 25th anniversary, and will be running from now until the end of January next year.

“With the unique 25% cash-back offer, Microsoft is working with partners to give consumers a great reason to purchase Microsoft Hardware products over the Christmas trading perio,” said Microsoft Australia, group marketing manager – Entertainment and Devices Division, Jamieson Yu.

“This offering illustrates Microsoft’s commitment to our re-sellers, who will benefit greatly from this simple, yet effective consumer promotion. Microsoft is eliminating the need for the re-seller to discount the product, thereby increasing average selling price and maximising profit margin.”

Internode Top Choice For Customers

by

Choice magazine has given the nod to Australian broadband company Internode, which has topped the list of national ADSL2+ providers for customer satisfaction.Nearly 4,000 ISP customers took part in the survey, which awarded Internode for its satisfying price, performance and customer support in association with its Extreme ADSL2+ broadband service.

A high 74 per cent of customers rated themselves “very satisfied” with Internode’s service, which is unusually high compared to the second place winner, iiNet, with 48 per cent.

The company also gained second place in terms of customer satisfaction for its first-generation broadband ADSL service.
The Choice internet survey takes place every six months and answers questions about the quality of service, performance, cost, and support of the ISPs and their associated services.

“Internode users were more likely to be very satisfied overall and with their connection speed, total cost and payment options (for ADSL2+ services),” said the Choice ISP Satisfaction Survey report.

 

“Internode ADSL customers were more likely to rate the support staff as very good for the technical help, time taken to resolve queries, communication skills and patience. Internode ADSL2/2+ users were very unlikely to change service provider in the next 12 months.”

This is the first time Internode has appeared in a Choice survey, which bodes well for the local ISP.

“Now we have enough critical mass to become visible in this important demographic, it’s terrific that the satisfaction of our customers has allowed us to top the ADSL2+ survey. It also signifies how much Internode is gaining traction beyond its traditional heartland of tech-savvy customers, with increasing take-up in more general market segments,”said Internode managing director, Simon Hackett.

“This is what we thrive on, and what we’re proud of – strong recommendations from trusted sources.”

The company is currently working on its next generation broadband service, called naked ADSL2+, which is due for release in the first quarter of next year.