VITS Monthly - A Newsletter Covering Recent IT News by Vantage IT Solutions Limited

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Could WEEE Drive up Costs?

The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive came into force this month and will start having an impact in July. The European Union act is designed to enforce the responsible disposal of unwanted electronic equipment such as computers, but it is thought it could eventually push up costs. The manufacturers of electronic goods will be required to promote the re-use or recycling of equipment, but if this increases costs, it will clearly be passed on to the end user.

Computer industry analysts are predicting there will eventually be a rise in the cost of computers within the European Union. However, Computer Aid International, an organisation that collects unwanted computer equipment and sends it to developing countries for use in schools and community projects, is hoping the new directive could help in their work. More information about Computer Aid International can be found at www.computeraid.org.

Welcome to the Electronic World

The new Companies Act, which came into force this year, states that the company registration number, registered office and place of registration must now appear on web sites and emails. These details have been a requirement on paperwork for years, but the new act brings company law up to date.

The increasing prevalence of a litigious society has also meant that many companies add a ‘disclaimer’ to the bottom of their emails. Software to enable the addition of this and such things as the company registration number is available from Vantage IT. Please click here for more information.

Just Remember How Valuable it is

Data that your company holds, particularly customer information, is worth much more than its weight in gold. This has been reinforced by a court case in which several people have been jailed following an investigation into the activities of a detective agency that was paid to hack into computer systems and telephones by competitor companies. Email and telephone calls were intercepted in an attempt to gain a competitive advantage. This gives an indication of how far some companies will go to obtain information about their rivals.

With the increased use of laptops that are easily stolen and the amount of data being sent electronically, it is still very important to understand the value of your company’s information and to try to limit risk as much as possible, for example by encrypting information. Please contact us if you would like to implement encryption on your mobile devices and/or emails.

Hamster Has Wheels

Hamster in his ball

An American company called iRobot Corporation manufactures robots that carry out tasks such as vacuuming, floor polishing and explosives' disposal. They have now released a new product called the ‘Create’ which is designed to be used by students and enthusiasts in the development of new robots. This all sounds fairly sensible. However, one of the uses they have discovered is that if a hamster is placed in a ball on top of the robot, the little fella can steer himself around the room. Yet another example of technology changing the world. Click here to visit the iRobot website and see hammy in action.

The Entertaining Bit

Whatever happened to global warming? Given the current weather, we felt this was topical. Please click here to view the clip.

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