Quote of the Week!

"Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome."

Booker T. Washington 

Are You Ready for an IT Failure?

A total 1,750 IT bosses were questioned in a report by IT group EMC that suggests almost three-quarters of firms and public sector organisations across nine European countries may not fully recover their computer systems or data after an IT failure.

The survey that covered Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg and Russia as well as the UK claimed 74% were "not very confident" they could fully restore their networks.  Furthermore, 54% admitted they had lost data or suffered systems downtime in the past 12 months.

Its report found that the most common cause of data loss and downtime was hardware failure, followed by power outage and software malfunction. 

EMC said firms needed to put more focus on backup and recovery systems.  Adodo wholeheartedly concurs!  Find out more about Adodo's Disaster Recovery Solutions.

Mobile Customer Service is Better

New Ofcom research reveals that consumers are more satisfied with their mobile phone provider than they are with landline or broadband suppliers.

In September the communication regulators interviewed 3,000 people, quizzing them on recent contact from their providers and the levels of service that they received.   The results showed that whilst service ratings for landlines had improved with BT, Sky and Talk Talk since 2009, on average, these satisfaction levels were still below those for mobile services.

It seems broadband speeds are still a major bone of contention and the underlying reason for many customer complaints.  Consumers having to contact their providers to change the deals that they signed up for proved the most common gripe from dissatisfied customers.

The telecommunication industry gets a lot of bad press for poor service, overcomplicated tariffs and for tying customers into long term contracts.  However, there are still some good guys out there that put a strong emphasis on customer service, simple tariffs and 30 days rolling contracts.  If you have a telecoms query then please feel free to Ask Adodo.

Contact Lenses of the future?

It seems Scientists are a step closer to new technology that, if approved, could allow users to read floating texts and emails right in front of their eyes, Terminator-style.

After a series of successful animal trials, these futuristic contact lenses could be a lot closer than we think. Researchers at Washington University who are working on the device say early tests show it is safe and feasible.

There are still wrinkles to iron out, like finding a good power source. As currently, their crude prototype device can only work if it is within centimetres of the wireless battery.

Initial safety tests in rabbits have gone well, with no obvious adverse effects, which has given the researchers renewed faith about the device's possibilities.  They envisage hundreds more pixels could be embedded in the flexible lens to produce complex holographic images.  For example, drivers could wear them to see journey directions or their vehicle's speed projected onto the windscreen.

The researchers in Washington are not the only team working on this kind of technology. Swiss company, Sensimed have already brought to market, a smart contact lens that uses inbuilt computer technology to monitor pressure inside the eye to keep tabs on the eye condition glaucoma.

Adodo are big believers in New Technology but are we ready for this kind of technology? Are we not 'hooked up' to enough technology already? Or is this just what we have been waiting for? Could this improve efficiency across your company?

Quote for the Week!

"The measure of success is not whether you have a tough problem to deal with, but whether it is the same problem you had last year."


John Foster Dulles 


Starting the week with a Telecoms Query?  Simple, Ask Adodo! 
0115 9701471 | solutions@adodo.co.uk 

Broadband Speeds Drop by 35% In the Evenings

According to comparison site uSwitch, UK broadband speeds drop by an average of 35% from their off-peak highs during the evenings when most people go online.

The report said that peak surf times were between 7pm and 9pm, meaning that was the slowest time to be online.  It went on to say that the best time to be online was between 2am and 3am.

There were also huge regional variations between evening and early morning surfing times.  Users in Evesham, Worcestershire, fared worst, according to the survey, with a massive 69% drop-off between off-peak morning and evening surfing.

Broadband speed is becoming more important as bandwidth-hungry services such as on-demand TV become more popular.  Telecoms regulator Ofcom recently revealed that British households download an average of 17 gigabytes of data every month over their home broadband connections.

Critics say consumers are being misled by internet service providers who continue to advertise their maximum broadband speeds, even though many users do not get them.

Questions about connectivity or broadband speeds? It's easy, Ask Adodo...

Welsh ‘notspots’ Prevent Competitive Business

Tourism chiefs claim that a lack of fast broadband is preventing companies based in Wales from being able to compete.

The Wales Tourism Alliance said "tech-savvy" visitors expected make to bookings online and then to stay connected during their trip.  One Pembrokeshire hotelier even spent £8,000 putting in wireless broadband to solve the ‘notspot’ problem faced by so many in Wales. 

However, Bristol-based firm, Avonline believe they have a solution.  They claim that their service uses a powerful satellite over Europe launched earlier this year to bring a guaranteed minimum 6mbps service.  Avonline said it was starting its UK promotion in Wales due to Ofcom's assessment of the poor broadband provision.

A spokeswoman said the Welsh government did not promote or endorse any individual company, system or technology within the broadband support scheme.  According to the Welsh government said there were more than 100 active applications from Pembrokeshire for its broadband support scheme, including five community schemes.

Questions about connectivity or broadband speeds? It's easy, Ask Adodo...

Quote for the Week!

“The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live”

                

Flora Whittmore

Starting the week with a Telecoms Query?  Simple, Ask Adodo! 
0115 9701471 | solutions@adodo.co.uk 

Africa’s Mobile Boom

After Asia, it seems Africa has the biggest mobile market in the world.  It certainly has the fastest-growing according to an association of worldwide mobile phone operators. 

The number of subscribers on the continent has grown almost 20% each year for the past five years, the GSM Association report on Africa says.  It expects there will be more than 735 million subscribers by the end of 2012.  Analysts believe that the poor and expensive landline service in Africa is the cause for rising mobile phone usage. 

Nigeria has the highest number of mobile phone subscriptions in Africa - more than 93 million, representing 16% of the continent's total mobile subscriptions, GSMA says.

The report says African countries have allocated far less spectrum to mobile services than Europe, the Americas and Asia, which inhibits connectivity to many people in rural areas.  It has been suggested that to take full advantage of the rising interest in mobile connectivity, African countries need to allocate more spectrum for the provision of mobile broadband services, as well as introduce tax cuts for the industry.

National Campaign Warns of Smartphone Scams

We’ve been talking about it for months but now a national computer security campaign is urging smartphone users to do more to protect themselves from unwittingly downloading malware applications.

A joint initiative between the government, police and industry, called Get Safe Online, said it was concerned that users of smartphones, such as Android devices, were not taking steps to protect their devices.

Their claim; is that that there has been an increase in smartphone malware as the market has grown.  As predicted, criminals are typically creating Trojan copies of reputable apps and tricking users into installing them. Once on the phone, the app can secretly generate cash for criminals through premium rate text messages.

If your smartphone is not armed with protection, then please take advantage of our FREE smartphone security trial!  Click here to find out more.

Quote of the Week!

"Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value."


Albert Einstein


Starting the week with a Telecoms Query?  Simple, Ask Adodo! 
0115 9701471 | solutions@adodo.co.uk 

MP’s Want Mobile Operators to Get on with It

A committee of UK MPs is urging mobile operators to stop fighting over how to share out the airwaves that will deliver next-generation services and get on with it.

The switch-over to digital TV has been key to providing the much-needed bandwidth for data services following the exponential rise of smartphones.  The result freed up a spectrum of airwaves that are now being fought over by the top mobile operators. 

The spectrum being auctioned is particularly valuable because it is low frequency and therefore covers greater distances. Regulator Ofcom hopes to hold the sale mid-2012, meaning that the UK is on track to be one of the last European countries to hold its 4G auction.  

Amidst a complex list of complaints, Ofcom has made clear that it wants Three to remain as a competitor in the UK mobile landscape because it has ensured that consumers get innovative services and low prices.  Therefore, in its proposals for the spectrum auctions the watchdog set mechanisms to ensure that Three got a portion of the 4G spectrum at a minimum price.  This angered O2 and Vodafone who threatened legal action over the floors, claiming they amounted to state-aid for Three.

Three, Vodafone, O2 and Everything, Everywhere are all planning to meet with Ofcom and the Government during the second consultation period in December to try and decide how the auction should work.  

Apple Blames Bugs for Battery Problems

Apple has finally made a statement that admits to "a few bugs" in its latest mobile operating system iOS 5.

Apple's servers were overwhelmed by demand for iOS 5 when it was released last month, but ever since its release, there have been thousands of complaints about poor battery life posted on Apple's forums.  In some cases, people claimed that their phone battery was draining by up to 15% every hour, even when the handset was not being used.

Initially Apple would not comment on the matter but have now issued a statement: "A small number of customers have reported lower than expected battery life on iOS 5 devices," it said.

"We have found a few bugs that are affecting battery life and we will release a software update to address those in a few weeks," it added.

It seems that Apple is certainly starting to feel the pressure from competitor challenges on the global stage, with vendors using Google’s Android Operating System turning up the heat. 

Analyst firm Canalys revealed that HTC has become the number one vendor in the US, overtaking Samsung, and pushing Apple into third place.

Is Apple’s perceived market dominance over?

Do You know that a smartphone can be infected by viruses in the same way as a PC? Are you protected?  Get FREE Smartphone Security trial here.