IT Geeks start welding?

Geek Chic

Yes it true, MC Ware Group now includes a welding a steel manufacturing division in the name of http://mcware-mechanical.co.uk.  

Why?

Not a natural progression from programming and computer forensics I grant you but in actual fact our clients are the same for this business as they are for the long running IT business (1998 that’s nearly 200 years in Dog Years).  Subsea construction and offshore wind farm construction is where it’s at for us.  We now put the IT systems on the ships and manufacture the steel structures that make up the wind farms that the same ships lay on the ocean floor! Obvious isn’t it

All divisions have different ISO 9001 (UKAS of course) certificates so that means lots of lovely audits in the future! 

The fabricators and welders we have selected are superb and we are really proud to have them on board and will do our best to keep them warm and busy this winter.

We’ve also produced a safety induction video with the help of the lovely, ITV’s own Alex Watson and you can see this at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inZ8dJY2qiY.  No “back of a fag packet” business here.  As you would expect from a proud Geek of an owner I’ve put an amazing IT System in that tracks progress, safety stats, quality and full traceability of materials used and track our 200 weld procedures!

IT meets welding – what next Bare Knuckle fighting ballerinas?

Stokesley Motors Review

I’m going to go off topic here and tell you all about my experience this week with Stokesley Motors. I took my dear wife’s car in for a service and MOT. It is a Vauxhall Vectra Estate 2006 and this was the first test it has ever needed. My friend warned me about Stokesley Motors and said that they will try and sell you items that you don’t need. eg. One of his cars only does around 700 miles per year and they tried to replace the tyres. He mentioned to them that it will take around 10 years at current mileage before these would need changing. But I really like to buy locally……….

I dropped it off and waited for the call to tell me how much.

and it came……..

It needed a suspension spring (and they insisted on installing in pairs) and the exhaust was blowing and a hanger needed replacing. what was the cost I hear you ask?

I was told that only Vauxhall parts that could be used – for an exhaust – are you kidding me. £350. The springs over £400. No mention of the MOT Cost

I called another garage Charlie Taylor in Northallerton (01609 778228) and they will do everything including the MOT for £279 including VAT. When I called Stokesley Motors to tell them that I would not like the work doing the lady said “would you like me to take the quote back to the parts department and see if they can do anything?” Are you crazy? How stupid do you think I am.

Apparently someone called the office and left a message for me? More BS.

In the end I paid £195 and didn’t argue anymore as frankly I couldn’t wait to get out of the place before they picked my pockets.

Did I mention they charged me £60 to tell me why my airbag light was on?

My advice go elsewhere, if you can’t do not let them do any work until you have had a quote from another Garage.

Good Luck

Mr Angry IT from Stokesley

Computer Expert Witness

Earlier in the year we dealt with a major case for the defence that dealt with the dreaded virus defence. The computer was riddled with malware and the main culprit was a DNS changer that was pointing this guys searches all over the place.
We were able to demonstrate using Liveview and VMWARE exactly how his browser was behaving and with a little help from Sunbelt in the US (morale support during a tough time) we found the smoking gun.
The Virus Defence has been successful very few times and in fact I was only able to find one other case. All readers of this blog must beware how images can end up in temporary internet files without your knowing. If you have saved them, previewed then or even put them on CD then you should pack your toothbrush and get ready for a stay at her majesties pleasure.
If you are under investigation at work or as part of a criminal investigation and you believe that malware or viruses are to blame for files found on your computer then contact http://www.hdforensics.co.uk or http://www.mcware.co.uk

EU and IT

Another EU Farce

 

Only a week after the Digital Britain Report (cost unknown) the EU has told all the member states that they  must not go it alone.  It has to be a coordinated EU Policy.

 

Viviane Reding, the European Commissioner for Telecommunications has warned member states including the UK not to ‘go it alone’ with broadband upgrades.

 

So will the UK get 2Mbps by 2012 or will be told to slow down and work at the pace of France who aims to have all houses connected at a speed of 512 kbps by 2012

 

 

MC Ware Limited is based in Stokesley North Yorkshire and were established in 1998. They are specialists in Microsoft Solutions, VM Ware, Citrix, Cisco, Mitel and Computer and Mobile Phone Forensics. For more info on computer forensics and mobile phone forensics go to http://www.hdforensics.co.uk.  Also see an example of MC Ware web development at http://www.stayinthegoodbooks.com.

 

 

http://ilovenorthyorkshire.wordpress.com/ 

http://www.mcware.co.uk

Microsoft to pull Windows 7 Release Candidate in August

Thanks to  Barry Collins for this article.

 

Microsoft has announced that the Release Candidate program for Windows 7 will cease in mid-August.

The company has made the Windows 7 RC freely available from its website since the beginning of May.

That free run will come to a close on 15 August, after which point you won’t be able to download the software, although it will still be possible to get an activation key for the operating system.

Once installed on a PC, the Release Candidate won’t expire until 1 June 2010, although users will be hit with annoying 

bi-hourly restarts from 1 March in a none-too-subtle attempt to persuade people to pay for the full version, which will be released on 22 October this year.

Stragglers who are still running the Windows 7 beta software are being urged to decamp to the Release Candidate as soon as possible, as they will start being hit with the bi-hourly restarts on 1 July. The beta software will eventually stop working on 1 August.

Microsoft is due to confirm the UK pricing of Windows 7 later this week, as well as details of free upgrades for people who buy a Vista machine in the run up to the launch.

Leading PC manufacturers are beginning to share with PC Pro details of new product launches to coincide with the launch of Windows 7, with some taking full advantage of the operating system’s new touchscreen support.

MC Ware Limited is based in Stokesley North Yorkshire and were established in 1998. They are specialists in Microsoft Solutions, VM Ware, Citrix, Cisco, Mitel and Computer and Mobile Phone Forensics. For more info on computer forensics and mobile phone forensics go to http://www.hdforensics.co.uk.  Also see an example of MC Ware web development at http://www.stayinthegoodbooks.com.

 

 

http://ilovenorthyorkshire.wordpress.com/ 

http://www.mcware.co.uk

Nokia and Intel get into Bed

 

Nokia Intel Partnership

 So on Tuesday 23 June Intel and Nokia announced a partnership in which Nokia will use Intel Chips in its mobile devices.

It is well known that Intel are desperate to get into the mobile phone market (not another one) for the mobile phone market is expected to grow more quickly that the  PC market over the next ten years.  Nokia while still technically the leaders in the worldwide smartphone market really need to generate some smartphone buzz to help fight off the growing challenges from Apple, Blackberry Palm and the Google Android.  (it should be noted that Google have just purchase a million numbers for the latter)

MC Ware Limited is based in Stokesley North Yorkshire and were established in 1998. They are specialists in Microsoft Solutions, VM Ware, Citrix, Cisco, Mitel and Computer and Mobile Phone Forensics. For more info on computer forensics and mobile phone forensics go to http://www.hdforensics.co.uk.  Also see an example of MC Ware web development at http://www.stayinthegoodbooks.com.

 

 

http://ilovenorthyorkshire.wordpress.com/ 

http://www.mcware.co.uk

Iphone broadband dongle

iPhones enabled as broadband dongle for free by “simple Hack

The Guardian UK

People wishing to avoid O2’s extra charge for using their iPhone to connect a computer to the net can use free software but o2 warns it will cut them off. The Guardian has established that owners of iPhone 3GS handsets and the iPhone 3G can circumvent extra monthly charges for using handsets as a broadband “dongle” using a simple technical workaround..

Visitors to Benm.at an iPhone and iPod touch enthusiasts’‘website can download a profile that instantly activates the tethering system free of charge. In the UK iPhone is only available on o2 and they were unequivocal in there response that any use of tethering without the purchase of a bolt-on is specifically prohibited under the terms of serve. However, when pressed as to whether or not the company would actually charge of disconnect offending users, the spokesman said that decisions would be made on a case by case basis. The spokesman would not specify to the Guardian precisely how O2 would detect and distinguish tethered and non tethered data use.

http://ilovenorthyorkshire.wordpress.com/

http://mcware.co.uk

MC Ware Limited is based in Stokesley North Yorkshire and were established in 1998. They are specialists in Microsoft Solutions, VM Ware, Citrix, Cisco, Mitel and Computer and Mobile Phone Forensics.

European Digital Surveillance

The European Digital Surveillance Proposal is to come under Scrutiny

The EU is considering a proposal to set out the use of techniques and technologies for the digital surveillance of its 500 million citizens.

Leading civil rights and justice expert Tony Bunyan will look at the proposal of the EU Future Group report Freedom, Security and Privacy – the area of European Home Affairs.

According to Tony Bunyan – “The national and European states require unfettered powers to access and gather masses of personal data on everyday life of everyone, so that we can all be safe and secure from perceived “threats”. But how are we to safe from the state itself, from its uses and abuses of the data it holds on us – If we do not have an open and meaningful debate now, we never will because it will by then be too late.”

http://ilovenorthyorkshire.wordpress.com/

http://mcware.co.uk

MC Ware Limited is based in Stokesley North Yorkshire and were established in 1998. They are specialists in Microsoft Solutions, VM Ware, Citrix, Cisco, Mitel and Computer and Mobile Phone Forensics.

Wifi through a hole in the wall

Access WiFi through A Hole in the Wall
Source – http://www.pcpro.co.uk
Thanks to the communications giant BT the UK could soon start seeing annoying fee charging cash machines being turned into conveniently located WiFi hotspots for Internet access.
We all know how annoying fee charging cash machines can be, and most of us are loathe to use them because it appears that they are charging us a fee just to get at our own money, which can be particularly frustrating in the current financial climate when consumers can ill afford to waste money just to get their own cash out of a machine. However, these machines could soon be seen in a different light by tech savvy consumers and business people that want to get online whilst out and about.

This is because the communications giant BT has struck a deal with the firm Cashbox, which runs around two and a half thousand of these fee charging machines across the UK. The machines are often located in areas where there is little access to regular cash machines, which is why many people end up having to use them despite their reservations about having to do thus because of the cost. This is also how Cashbox makes its money.
The new deal will see BT turning some of these fee charging cash machines into WiFi hotspots on its Openzone network. In the initial stages around ten of these cash machines will be converted into WiFi hotspots, but officials have said that as time goes on this number should increase. Customers that have BT broadband packages get an Openzone allowance with their packages, and access can also be purchased, although iPhone users get unlimited access to the hotspots.
Ciaran Morton, the CEO of Cashbox, stated: “Some of our sites lend themselves to becoming hotspots more than others. It’s really just the start of our rollout. We will look at extending coverage over the coming months.”
http://ilovenorthyorkshire.wordpress.com/

http://mcware.co.uk

MC Ware are based in Stokesley North Yorkshire and were established in 1998. They are specialists in Microsoft Solutions, VM Ware, Citrix, Cisco, Mitel and Computer Forensics.

Can Microsoft ever improve on XP

Extract from Digital Daily by John Paczkowski
“Windows XP is almost nine years old. And it will be almost 11 before it’s finally retired for good, now that Microsoft has once again extended XP downgrade rights.
Said Microsoft: “Windows 7 Professional and Ultimate customers will have the option to downgrade to Windows XP Professional from PCs that ship within 18 months following the general availability of Windows 7 or until the release of a Windows 7 service pack, whichever is sooner, and if a service pack is developed.”
This means OEMs could still be selling XP-equipped PCs as late as April 2011. Which is astonishing when you recall that the company originally planned to cut off sales of XP on Jan. 30, 2008, one year after Windows Vista debuted. But the poor reception given Vista and the unwavering loyalty of XP users caused the company to extend that deadline to June 30, 2008. A few months later, Microsoft (MSFT) pushed the deadline out further, to Jan. 31, 2009. Then, amid reports that more than a third of all new Vista PCs were being downgraded to XP, Redmond extended the XP deadline to May 30, 2009. The company subsequently pushed that extension out to April 22, 2010.
And now we’re into mid-2011. “

MC Ware are based in North Yorkshire and provide IT services across the globe. Marine IT, VM Ware, Mitel Partners, Citrix Xen app and Sonicwall specialists

https://ilovenorthyorhshire.wordpress.com/

http://www.mcware.co.uk

http://www.hdforensics.co.uk