In the technology world, we’re constantly looking to keep up to date. Over the past ten years we have upgraded nearly everything; from CRT monitors to flat TFT’s, from 100Mb/s to 1Gbit/s ethernet and not forgetting, the office now being wireless.

In IT, nearly everything has changed but, there is something quite important that hasn’t. The operating system! Windows XP has been around for a good eight years now yet the majority of businesses still use it. On the one hand it’s safe, secure and much more stable some would argue. But is it really better?

Windows 7’s new features allow for far smarter working, paired with the latest Adobe CS4 suite and Office 2007 (soon, Office 2010).

So whilst all the hardware, software and server operating system is being upgraded. The PC operating system isn’t.

I’m sure Microsoft would find it easier to create an operating system even better for businesses but, with most businesses holding onto XP, Microsoft won’t have much to go on to improve their operating systems in the future. I guess the main problem would be the support of in-house programs designed to work with XP but we would have to change at some points, particularly when XP becomes completely unsupported.

Internet explorer 6 is also beginning to die but still used by many businesses. Youtube, the biggest video networks in the world has announced it will cease its support for the browser within the next month.

IE6 and XP will be obsolete within the next few years but are we prepared for the change?

Are XP and IE 6 holding back the progression of technology in the workplace? What are your thoughts?

Discuss this on our new Forum!

Jim Chappell, VP of business development at Centrify, which is also seeing many organisations integrating Macs to their enterprise infrastructures, thinks similarly, noting that demand is not only rising for Macs, but for solutions that allow firms to manage their Mac fleets in a same way they manage their PCs.

This said however, some companies are taking the issue of Mac/PC integration out of the equation altogether. Kate Craig-Wood is MD of IT outsourcing firm Memset, “the UK’s first carbon-neutral ISP” – and both have eschewed what might be termed the traditional PC-based IT model in favour of a Linux/Mac platform for staff personal computers and laptops.

This is predicated in part, she explains, on the fact that “almost all” Memset’s key business systems are web-based – a knowledge management Wiki, Trac project management, Sugar CRM, Google Calendar for diaries (“I can trust Google with that much data, even if I wouldn’t give them my documents”, says Craig-Wood) – so it scarcely matters what device these systems are accessed with.

It is an increasingly common argument, and a sound one. As Cloud Computing continues to grow in popularity, so too will devices like the Mac as it will be the access that counts, not the endpoint via which it is achieved, because applications in the cloud won’t generally require any single type of browser or operating system.

In short, the cloud legitimises the Mac as a genuine business machine; allowing the business to benefi t from the Mac’s strengths without worrying about integration. As such, the cloud model plays very much into Apple’s hands, says Craig-Wood. “It will not be long before we’re all just carrying thin client devices with mobile data connectivity which do little more than run a web browser; that’s pretty much what my MacBook Air has become. In that world, one where Apple has a very strong play, the operating system becomes irrelevant.” Not that the Mac will necessarily have things all its own way, she says, as the changing landscape will benefi t other players too – Google for instance, which she describes as a significant threat to Apple.

“Despite being an Apple-fan I’ve gone with the HTC Magic / Android G2 instead of an iPhone, and it is proving a remarkably effective business handset – far more so than Blackberry too. As a highly mobile worker with almost everything stored ?in the cloud’ the G2 is a perfect choice for me. And how long will it be before Google brings out a netbook that rivals the MacBook Air in terms of looks, technology, and suitability for the cloud-worker?” Cloud or no, it’s an ill wind…

Insights: 7 reasons why the Mac is winning friends and influencing people.

1.  Macs can run Windows and Microsoft Office

MS Office is now available for the Mac hardware platform, as are most other popular ‘PC’ applications. If the app is Windows-only you can run Windows ‘natively’ via Boot Camp or run Mac OS X and Windows (and their applications) side by side via Parallels Desktop for Mac or VMware Fusion without having to restart.

2. Peripherals are Plug ‘n’ Play

Unlike some PCs, Macs come with hundreds of peripherals drivers preinstalled, so in most cases that means genuine plug ‘n’ playability.

3. Macs can sit on Windows networks

Many tools are now available to ease Mac / PC network integration.

4. Reliability

A perennial Apple hobby horse. While PCs mean hardware from one company and an operating system and software from others, with the Mac, both are built by Apple. A crashed application doesn’t mean a crashed OS.

Security

Macs are more resilient to viruses and other nasties too. The Mac web browser Safari alerts the user whenever they’re downloading an application for instance – even if it’s disguised as a picture or movie file.

6. Ease of use and popularity

Much to PC fans’ long term chagrin, the Mac GUI is legendary for its ease of use and Macs win every time for looks and therefore user popularity.

7. Value

While the capital cost for a Mac is generally higher, Macs rarely necessitate the same levels of additional software, memory, and other extras needed with PCs, so cost of ownership is often lower.

Visit the Apple Microsite

The launch of a major new operating system is massive news by anyone’s standards, especially when it is a new Microsoft OS, and even more especially given the extent to which that marketplace has shifted and evolved since the launch of its predecessor. In fact, so much had things moved on in the technological landscape into which Windows 7 found itself parachuting, that its relatively soft touchdown has been all the more remarkable. In asking why, the simple truth is that Windows 7 ticks a great many of the boxes that Microsoft said its next Microsoft OS would and a few more besides – not least in giving users a range of exciting Windows 7 features, which are more than enough compelling reasons to upgrade.

“…there’s a lightness of touch to Windows 7, which feels responsive, even sprightly. ”

Sprightly
It is faster and more reliable; while Vista could seem listless and ungainly even on high-end hardware, there’s a lightness of touch to Windows 7, which feels responsive, even sprightly. We at iQ Insight also think It’s friendlier (and prettier) than Vista; there’s an enhanced sense of user control. In fact, the Windows 7 features incorporate significant improvements over its forerunner everywhere from navigation to backwards compatibility. You name it, the Microsoft OS has addressed it. In many ways though, all this misses a vital point.

Performance
It’s wrong to view any solution solely through the veil of another’s shortcomings, and this is especially the case with Windows 7, which incorporates a great range of tools and features that deserve recognition in their own right. The new Microsoft OS has productivity enhancing elements like jumplists, aero peek, stacking, libraries, and direct access; quick start-up and extended battery life; powerful backup and security facilities; energy saving and smart power management. So the list of valuable new Windows 7 features goes on.

Capability
Windows 7 features larger icons, no clunky text tags; thumbnail enhancements, and a search function to rival Mac OS X’s Spotlight. Windows 7 should run well on low-end hardware too (it’s even being pitched as an alternative operating platform for netbooks), while the platform’s touch capability will also help win users over. Add all this to The latest Microsoft OS’ undoubted ability to enable major cost savings, and you finally have the Windows upgrade path your users want, your business needs and your infrastructure craves. Now that’s a vista worth checking out, so make sure you get regularly updated on Windows 7 via iq.insight.com.

Rest software assured
According to independent commentators like analyst IDC, one tool effective in helping businesses derive more value from their software investments is Software Assurance – which drives cost savings on the services and tools needed to support software, train workforces, and plan long-term software strategies.

IDC’s total cost of ownership (TCO) analysis based on IT best practices, compares organisations with Software Assurance (SA) and those without to evaluate SA’s impact on IT labour costs. The model found that:

» Standardising on a single version of the desktop PC and server operating system and Microsoft Office via the New Version Rights benefit reduces IT labour costs by 30% to 35%.

» Using Training Vouchers and E-Learning benefits reduced annual software training costs by 69%.
» Packaged Services support cut desktop PC deployment program management costs by 36%.
» The Home Use programme reduced
- User training costs by 9%
- Training time
- Downtime and help desk issues
- Users’ non productive time by 29%
- Deployment-associated service desk calls by 19%

Download Reasons to Upgrade to Windows 7, the latest Microsoft OS

With its importance, complexity, and logistical burden rising in direct proportion, organisations need to grasp the software licensing nettle before they get stung.

As tech issues go, Software Licensing is a lot like your average cess-pit – it might well have mysterious hidden
depths, but exploring them is about as appealing as gastro-enteritis. And twice as painful.

And it’s not getting any better.

New and emerging technologies and software procurement tactics like virtualisation, the Cloud, and SaaS (Software as a Service) are making licensing evermore confusing and difficult for firms to understand,
much less control. And with economic strife driving management to re-evaluate and rationalise their
spending habits, there’s yet another new wrinkle for businesses to factor in.

The problem, it seems, is that many firms are burying their heads in the sand rather than the numbers.

According to recent research from analysts IDC, around a third of the IT departments surveyed currently take no steps to measure the differences between their licensing entitlements and the software they actually have deployed at any given time – and this despite more than half the total sample having been subject to
software vendor audits during the previous 12 months.

It is also clear that even those companies that do try to monitor and manage their software licensing often fall
woefully and expensively short. This invariably leads to one of two scenarios and sometimes both: massive overspending as firms blanket buy licenses “to be on the safe side”, and degrees of non-compliance ranging from therisky to the ridiculous.

The question, of course, is why?

The first reason for the imbalance is a matter of ownership, according to Mark Cresswell, President of
licensing management specialists Scalable Software.

Or more accurately a lack thereof.

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A new year, a new decade. Time to  reflect on the last years IT and have a look at my top 9 IT products from last year.

9. Samsung 7 and 8 series LED TVs

The 6, 7 and 8 series of Samsung’s TV’s feature LED backlight technology, Currently, one of the only manufacturers to offer this on a TV. They are extremely thin, measuring in with a thickness of just 29.9mm! Not only do they use a lot less power (upto 40% less) they also offer an outstanding picture as a result of the LED technology. Offering a staggering 5,000,000:1 contrast ratio, Internet connection (which streams the latest news to your TV and USB input, this TV really is a great product of 2009.

8. HTC Hero

The HTC Hero is a great smart phone, it is very customizable and links very well to facebook and twitter etc. It has a large ‘market’ where applications can be downloaded like an iphone and has all the key features such as GPS, accelerometer, QWERTY keyboard, Wi-fi and is very well built.

The only thing to let it down is the camera which doesn’t have a flash but then again, the phone isn’t designed to be used primarily as a camera. The fact you can link all of your contacts to their facebook account is great too and copies their picture to their contact picture (which is automatically updated when connected to the internet). It also allows you to view contacts updates and photos within the contacts area without going onto facebook. A new firmware update makes the touch screen much more responsive and the phone much faster too.

7. Sony X-Series

Currently, the thinnest laptop available, it has an LED back-lit screen, a 256GB Solid state hard drive andhas a battery that can last up to 8 hours. It may not be the most powerful machine in the world, but is one of the thinnest, lightest (weighing less than a bag of sugar) and the most portable. A great price and a great machine for any professional.

6.  Intel Core i5 and Core i7

The latest quad core processors from Intel aimed at high end notebooks and desktops. These new processors are very energy efficient for their power and offer huge performance boosts particularly when used with DDR3 RAM. The i7 features hyper-threading and a turbo mode. These are great processors and will power through anything you throw at it.

5. Snow Leopard

Snow Leopard is the latest operating system from Apple, delivering a wide range of enhancements,  including next-generation technologies,  out-of-the-box support for Microsoft Exchange Server, and new accessibility features. It doesn’t look an awful lot different from Tiger but it is much quicker. Particularly on the higher specification machines.  The whole of the workings behind-the-scenes has been reworked to achieve a large speed increase. In addition, it features n64-bit computing, multicore-optimization, OpenCL, QuickTime X, and the usual, protection from viruses. A great new operating  system for those who use a Mac.

4. SSD

The new phenomenon of 2009, a none mechanical hard drive that has very impressive features. They use very little power, generate very little heat and can boot an operating system at more than double the speed of a traditional hard drive. At the moment, they come at a price but are gradually dropping. These aren’t marketed as a storage solution but a performance upgrade. One of the best products of 2009.

3. iMac

The latest revision of the iMac saw large improvements. Including bigger screens (21.5″ and 27″) which are very high quality LED displays, 4GB or DDR3 RAM in all and processors starting  with a 3.06Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo. The top model features an Intel Core i5 and a Radeon HD 4850. They all come with Snow leopard too. A great product, made better.

2. Google Apps

Why spend money on hardware upgrades and licences when someone else can deal with it all for you. Google, now one of the biggest companies in the world are offering the service, Google Apps. This new concept really could save you money. It is aimed at all businesses and organisations, from schools to enterprise to small business. Every employee gets a storage capacity of emails upto 25GB, Mobile email, calendar and IM access allowing employees/users to access them when not at their desk, information security and complacency  and an up time of 99.9%. A great service that is proven to save you time and money.

1. Windows 7

The biggest operating system launch of 2009, and one of the best from Microsoft since Windows XP. It has kept all the nice features of Vista but used the workings similar to XP to make it run a lot quicker on any machine. It now only uses a about a third of the RAM used by Vista but still looks just as good. New features include; a new taskbar, window management mouse gestures, full 64-bit support, windows Media Center, windows XP Mode ( Windows 7 Professional and Ultimate), windows Media Player 12 and touch screen capabilities.