Vantage Point - A Newsletter Covering Recent IT News by Vantage IT Solutions Limited

Vantage Newsletter: June 2007

Welcome to Vantage Point for June, your newsletter from Vantage IT Solutions - providers of high quality IT support and products with security in mind.

A holiday in Bermuda...

We have an eclectic selection of articles this month - more varied than our weather over the last few weeks. Rather than thinking about the weather, instead picture yourself on a tropical island...not much help, but we just wanted an excuse to include this photo (unfortunately not our holiday destination, but one can always dream).

An Inflexible Friend?

If your organisation processes or holds credit card data on computer, you may be aware that as of 1st October, the processing of such data will need to meet strict security standards set out by the world's main credit card companies. The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) outlines comprehensive requirements the organisation feels will help protect credit card data.

Although the rules are complex, the number of transactions processed annually determines how many of the rules need to be followed.

Customers of Vantage IT already comply with some of the rules, as the security we recommend meets or exceeds the requirements of the PCI DSS. If you would like further details on how your systems can become compliant, please contact us.

Please enable Images to read Vantage IT's tip of the month.

Wi-Fi - What's Cooking?

Wi-fi, or Wireless Networking, seems to offer an ideal communication method - no wires, just sit down and start work. Reports are now suggesting we could be at risk from wi-fi waves bombarding us! A few weeks ago, BBC’s Panorama programme investigated the possibility that signals being transmitted by wi-fi systems could have a similar effect as those from mobile phone transmitters and now some local councils are calling for a government investigation.

Roast Chicken

There do seem to be differing opinions as to whether there is a risk. Some argue it has never been proven that mobile phone transmitters cause any problems and that this is just more scaremongering. Certainly the power is nowhere near that of mobile phone masts (which may be a problem), so any risk must presumably be greatly reduced. We’re not scientists so cannot be sure there is a risk and we may not know the truth for several years. We do admit to being rather cautious of wireless networks, but that's from a security standpoint, not from how quickly they'll roast our Sunday lunch. If you would like more information on implementing and securing wireless networks, please contact us.

Last Orders for Office 2003

At the end of June, Microsoft will stop selling Office 2003 to computer suppliers, meaning that all new PCs and laptops we supply will be shipped with Office 2007 (if requested). The Office suite includes some or all of: Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Access and Publisher.

Companies with a current Microsoft Volume Licence for Office will continue to be able to use its downgrade rights to install Office 2003 and then upgrade to 2007 in the future. However, for most users, the possibility of purchasing more copies of 2003 will soon be coming to an end. Microsoft will still be offering support though.

If you haven’t seen Office 2007, there are a number of changes from 2003 and some appear to be change for the sake of it. There are advantages to using the new version, but it does take time to familiarise yourself with it and some users have complained about this. If you do require Office 2003, we suggest you get your orders in before stocks are exhausted. When the time comes to implement 2007, training for all staff using it may be required. For information on obtaining Office 2003 please contact us.

Interesting and Informative!

Have you ever wondered what the inside of a computer hard drive looks like and how it works? Don’t say no! If you look at this months tip, you can see a brief video that is actually quite interesting. Watching it will give you an appreciation of the amount of work a hard drive does - the video is in real-time and is only a couple of minutes.

Where Would We Be Without Sir Tim Berners-Lee?

You may not be familiar with the name, but Tim Berners-Lee created the World Wide Web in the early nineties...and he's British. Earlier this month, he was awarded one of the country's highest honours by the Queen - the ‘Order of Merit’. It is in the gift of the Queen and can be given without any political recommendation (or donation!). Only 24 people can hold the Order of Merit at any one time, so it's great news that someone who has made such a change to the way we work has been acknowledged. Now, I wonder what they will award the person who created email...?!

The Entertaining Bit

Anyone want a pay rise? Please click here for more details. You will need PowerPoint or the free PowerPoint Viewer to view this - please click here to download the free Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer.

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