Monthly Archives: June 2011

Tony Bradley writing on PCWorld has posted “Office 365 vs. Google Docs Showdown: Feature by Feature” an article comparing features on Google Docs and newly release Microsoft Office 365.

“Google has tried to challenge Microsoft with Google Docs–the productivity component of its Google Apps suite–and now Microsoft is taking the battle onto Google’s turf with the cloud-based Office 365.”

The article covers, Browser Compatibility, File Systems, cost and Real-Time Collaboration.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/231294/office_365_vs_google_docs_showdown_feature_by_feature.html

Microsoft Corp. announced the availability of Microsoft Office 365, the company’s newest cloud service. Office 365 is now available in 40 markets, and it brings together Microsoft Office, Microsoft SharePoint Online, Microsoft Exchange Online and Microsoft Lync Online in an always-up-to-date cloud service, at a predictable monthly subscription.

The service was introduced in beta last year with enthusiastic response and, in a few months, more than 200,000 organizations signed up and began testing it. Businesses using Office 365 are already reporting impressive results and reducing IT costs by up to an estimated 50 percent while boosting productivity.

Today, more than 20 service providers around the globe also shared plans to bring Office 365 to their customers this year. Bell Canada, Intuit Inc., NTT Communications Corp., Telefonica S.A., Telstra Corp. and Vodafone Group Plc, among others, will package and sell Office 365 with their own services for small and midsize businesses.

“Great collaboration is critical to business growth, and because it’s so important, we believe the best collaboration technology should be available to everyone,” said Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. “With a few clicks, Office 365 levels the playing field, giving small and midsize businesses powerful collaboration tools that have given big businesses an edge for years.”

A Game Changer for Businesses of All Sizes

Office 365 is available in a wide range of service plans designed to meet the needs of businesses of all sizes, ranging from the largest to the smallest.

With Office 365, people can stay on the “same page” using instant messaging and virtual meetings with people who are just down the hall or across the world. They can work on files and documents at the same time and share ideas as easily as they can share calendars. Office 365 gives people new ways to work together with ease, on virtually any device.

Microsoft Office applications are at the heart of Office 365. Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, OneNote, Outlook and other Office applications connect to Microsoft Exchange, SharePoint and Lync to deliver a world-class solution for communication and collaboration.

“When I saw Office 365, I knew this was the way businesses would work in the future,” said Elia Wallen, owner of fast-growing temporary housing provider Travelers Haven. “With Office 365, I’m going to save $100,000 a year and cut 30 hours of work a day across my 35 employees, but most importantly, my team is going to be able to work together better — no matter where they are.”

More stories from businesses that have tried Office 365 are available at http://www.microsoft.com/casestudies.

AMP have announced a video camera that records 1080p HDR Video.

AMP uses a patented optical engine to split the light from a single camera lens onto three digital video sensors. AMP can produce a true, high-dynamic range (HDR) image for every single frame in the video stream. And the best news is: that’s just the beginning.

A Versatile HDR Video Production System from Mike Tocci on Vimeo.

AMP captures three widely spaced exposures in order to extend the dynamic range of the camera and produce images that are as close as possible to what the human eye can experience.

AMP only stores raw data. Every electron of data captured by AMP is saved to a solid state drive (SSD) without any compression or any loss.

The camera package is no bigger than a prosumer SLR camera and weighs less than 5 lbs without a lens and works with Nikon F-Mount-compatible lenses.

www.amphdr.com

ExpanDrive 2 adds support for plain FTP, FTP and Amazon S3 and ExpanDrive’s own Strongspace Online Storage service. It boasts an all-new SFTP engine that should dramatically improve speed in both transfer and browsing.

Major features:
New interface. Simple and intuitive, even more than before.
Blazing fast new SFTP layer.
FTP and FTPS drives!
Amazon S3 drives!
Massively increased speed and throughout
Dynamic reconnect support – always stay connected
Pagaent Support for SSH keys
On-disk data-cache for frequently accessed files.
All new metadata-cache – faster browsing around.
New filesystem driver
Innumerable fixes and enhancements for MS Office sharing/locking
Frequent updates – and a working auto updater

ExpanDrive, allows you to mount FTP, SFTP, or S3 accounts as local drives on your computer on Mac or Windows.

More info: www.expandrive.com

Strongspace continuously backs up your data and the changes you make to it.

www.strongspace.com

Apple’s iOS took a 65% share, with Android accounting for 31%, and other platforms (BlackBerry, Windows Mobile/Phone, webOS and feature phones) taking a 3% share, according to industry body the GSMA, reports the Guardian.

The Guardian reports goes on to say:

“comScore provided Apps Blog with some separate figures from its MobiLens research, showing device market share for smartphones in the UK in April. According to those figures, 27.6% of smartphone users were on iPhone that month, 24.7% on Android, 23.6% on Symbian, 18.1% on BlackBerry and 3.8% on Windows Mobile or Windows Phone 7 devices.

Compare the two pieces of research, and you see iPhone is hugely over-indexing in terms of connected app usage, Android is doing pretty well, but Symbian – 23.6% of active smartphones but a mere 1% of connected app users – hardly presents an appealing prospect to developers making those connected apps.”

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/appsblog/2011/jun/22/iphone-android-apps-share

Press Release – The nanometer-coated ASUS U36 is the world’s thinnest notebook with standard voltage Intel Core i5 processor

The U36 notebook is the world’s thinnest laptop to harness the power of a standard voltage Intel® Core™ i5 processor, giving you the freedom to stay light and connected on the move without compromising on mobile performance.

ASUS Super Hybrid Engine (with the ability to switch off USB 3.0 functionality) combined with NVIDIA graphics and Optimus technology saves power for when it’s needed most to deliver an incredible 11.5 hours battery life*.

With an ultra-thin chassis (only 19mm thick) made from lightweight magnesium alloy with nanometer coating, the U36 is not only practical by repelling dirt, water and fingerprint marks, but is a head-turning accessory for even the most fashion-conscious users, both at home and on the go.

Two videos, including a hands-on demonstration of its key features, are available at http://techinstyle.tv/products/the-stunning-u36-ultra-portable-notebook-launches-in-the-uk.

The U36 is priced at £699 inc VAT and is available now in-store and online from Micro Anvika (www.anvika.com/product/asus-u36jc-rx197x-13-3-w7p-4gb-500gb/asu14503) and before the end of June from Comet www.comet.co.uk

Key Features:

* Standard voltage Intel® Core™ i5 processor

* Ultra-thin chassis only 19mm thick and weighing 1.44kg

* Up to 11.5 hours battery life*

* ASUS Super Hybrid Engine with USB 3.0 toggle

* NVIDIA Graphics with Optimus technology

* Magnesium alloy finish with nanometer coating

* 13.3″ HD TFT display (1366 x 768)

* 500GB storage

* 802.11 b/g/n wireless

* 5 in 1 card reader

Enjoy maximum power without the burden:

Unlike other ultra-thin notebooks (which use low voltage CPUs to gain cooling and power consumption benefits) the U36 has broken the mould in design innovation by unleashing the superior performance of a standard voltage Intel® Core™ i5 processor from within a delightfully sleek 19mm chassis.

This bold step forward is owed to ASUS’s dual heat pipe design, which effectively dissipates heat from the processor without adding any extra bulk – keeping the notebook cool and your bag even lighter.

Up to 11.5 hours battery life for all-day computing:

The U36 notebook integrates ASUS’s Super Hybrid Engine technology which intelligently manages energy consumption based on whether you’re simply checking emails and browsing the net, or using more power-hungry applications such as video editing or playing games.

The NVIDIA graphics card ensures movies and games are blasted out in crystal clear quality for a smooth, uninterrupted experience, whilst Optimus technology cleverly switches between onboard or discrete graphics without any user intervention, so it won’t waste power where it’s not needed.

With up to 10 hours battery life* as standard, the U36 also offers the ability to switch off USB 3.0 functionality in order to squeeze an extra 1.5 hours on top for a whopping overall 11.5 hours* battery life and the reassurance that you won’t be left in the dark away from home.

Stay on trend with the sleek and soft magnesium alloy finish:

The U36’s slender chassis is just 19mm at the thickest point, and is designed using ultra-light magnesium alloy for a truly chic finish that is incredibly lightweight (1.44kg).

What’s more, with a soft-touch nanometer coating the U36 is repellent of dirt, fingerprints and even water (no more panic when it starts to drizzle), whilst the seamless chiclet keyboard is easier to clean and prevents the build-up of dust. This thoughtful design helps to keep the laptop looking beautiful even after hours of exposure to every kind of environment from the home to trains or when stowed in hand luggage.

With metallic choices in silver or black, the U36 is bang on-trend this season and the ideal choice for a tech chic style both at home and away.

Pricing and Availability:

The U36 is priced at £699 inc VAT and is available now in-store and online from Micro Anvika (www.anvika.com/product/asus-u36jc-rx197x-13-3-w7p-4gb-500gb/asu14503) and before the end of June from Comet www.comet.co.uk

About ASUS

ASUS, the world’s top 3 consumer notebook vendor and the maker of the world’s best-selling and most award winning motherboards, is a leading enterprise in the new digital era.

ASUS designs and manufactures products that perfectly meet the needs of today’s digital home, office and person, with a broad portfolio that includes motherboards, graphics cards, optical drives, displays, desktops, Eee Box and all-in-one PCs, notebooks, netbooks, tablet devices, servers, multimedia and wireless solutions, networking devices, and mobile phones.

Driven by innovation and committed to quality, ASUS won 3,398 awards in 2010, and is widely credited with revolutionizing the PC industry with the Eee PC™. With a global staff of more than 10,000 and a world-class R&D team of 3,000 engineers, the company’s revenue for 2010 was around US$10.1 billion.