http://www.dailyfix.co.uk en-us N/A info@dailyfix.co.uk Sat, 05 Jul 2008 11:21:18 BST 20 http://www.dailyfix.co.uk/blogs/28/Is-spam-email-getting-you-down.html
The paper says that the average employee now sepnds an estimated 90 minutes to two hours per day wading through hundreds of email, much or which are spam.

So is email still a valuable business or social tool, or is the amount of emails selling pills, gender specific sexual organ enlargements and the like causing you to avoid your email box?

According to research group the Radicati Group, 196 billion email message are sent each day - and this is set to rise to 374 billion by 2011.

Speaking personally, I would estimate that 95% of the emails I receive are spam. And this is with spam blocking software installed. I shudder to think how may spam emails would get through to my inbox if there was no spam sieve installed on my email server.

So what can you do to reduce the amount or email spam you receive?

1. Do not open spam emails  - this can alert the sender that your email address is a live email address.
2. Do not click the "unsubscribe" link in a spam email - this will also confirm that your email address is live.
3. Install some spam filtering software on your computer - Or preferably, on the email server. Spam blocking software on your computer will help to sift out email spam but installation in the email server will help stop the spam getting to your computer in the first place.
4. Use an email box inspection tool - Tools such as Mailwasher will allow you to view the contents of your email box directly on the server before downloading emails to your computer. This means you can delete spam emails before hitting "Send and Receive" in your email client.
   
5. Be careful who you give your email address to - When registering for online forums and email newsletters condsider using a Hotmail email address or other such web based email address. You can also close this email account down if it starts getting inundated with spam.

Unfortunately spam is a fact of modern life, but by using a few simple guidelines, such as those given above, you should be able to stop yourself drowning under a sea of spam.
]]> no@spam.com (Chief Editor) Mon, 10 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.dailyfix.co.uk/blogs/28/Is-spam-email-getting-you-down.html http://www.dailyfix.co.uk/blogs/27/HD-DVD-Is-Dead-Long-Live-Blue-ray.html
And Microsoft has decided to stop making the HD DVD add-on drive for the Xbox 360 games console - again, Microsoft will continue to provide warranty support for the HD DVD drive.

One wonders whether Microsoft, or a third party provider, will now produce an external Blue-ray drive for Xbox owners. Sony PlayStation 3 owners already have a Blue-ray drive built into their consoles.

Toshiba's announcement seemingly signals the death of the HD DVD format.

Those readers over the age of about 35 will remember a similar rival technology battle between VHS and Betamax in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

That time Sony was the mass market loser in what has gone down in history as a classic example of technological rivalry.

Cue a flood of HD DVD players and recorders on eBay?
]]> no@spam.com (Chief Editor) Tue, 26 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.dailyfix.co.uk/blogs/27/HD-DVD-Is-Dead-Long-Live-Blue-ray.html http://www.dailyfix.co.uk/blogs/26/Happy-Valentine039s-Day.html For the rest of you, Happy Thursday!
]]> no@spam.com (Chief Editor) Thu, 14 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.dailyfix.co.uk/blogs/26/Happy-Valentine039s-Day.html http://www.dailyfix.co.uk/blogs/25/Apple-Adds-New-iPhone-amp-iPod-touch-Models.html
“For some users, there’s never enough memory”, said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide iPod and iPhone Product Marketing. “Now people can enjoy even more of their music, photos and videos on the most revolutionary mobile phone and best Wi-Fi mobile device in the world”.

Both iPhone and iPod touch feature Apple’s revolutionary Multi-Touch user interface and pioneering software that allows users to find and enjoy all their music, videos, photos and more with just a touch of their finger. All iPhone and iPod touch models include the latest software enhancements announced last month, including the ability to automatically find your location using the new Maps application*; create Web Clips for your favourite websites; customise your home screen and watch movies from the new iTunes Movie Rentals. Both iPhone and iPod touch feature the world’s most advanced mobile web browser in the world with Safari and great mobile applications including Mail, Maps, Stocks, Weather and Notes.

Pricing & Availability:
The new 16GB iPhone is available immediately for a suggested retail price of £329 (inc VAT) through the Apple Store, Apple’s retail stores and O2 and Carphone Warehouse’s retail and online stores. The 32GB iPod touch is available worldwide immediately for a suggested retail price of £329 (inc VAT) through the Apple Store, Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorised Resellers. iTunes Movie Rentals are available in the US only. iPhone and iPod touch require a Mac with a USB 2.0 port, Mac OS X 10.4.10 or later and iTunes 7.6; or a Windows PC with a USB 2.0 port and Windows Vista or Windows XP Home or Professional with Service Pack 2 or later and iTunes 7.6.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system, and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary iPhone.]]> no@spam.com (Chief Editor) Tue, 05 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.dailyfix.co.uk/blogs/25/Apple-Adds-New-iPhone-amp-iPod-touch-Models.html http://www.dailyfix.co.uk/blogs/24/O2-announces-upgrade-of-Apple-iPhone-tarrifs.html
In the next month or so, people on the £35 a month tariff will see inclusive minutes increase from 200 to 600 per month and inclusive texts increase from 200 to 500 per month.

Unlimited UK data will continue.

The minimum £35 per month tarrif when the iPhone was launched in the UK by Carphone Warehouse and O2 was far from the best value tarrif available, but this increase may make the tarrif a little easier for iPhone owners to swallow.
]]> no@spam.com (Chief Editor) Thu, 31 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.dailyfix.co.uk/blogs/24/O2-announces-upgrade-of-Apple-iPhone-tarrifs.html http://www.dailyfix.co.uk/blogs/23/Jeremy-Beadle-dies-aged-59.html
He was best known for presenting You've Been Framed, Game For A Laugh (with Henry Kelly, Sarah Kennedy and Matthew Kelly) and Beadle's About but he was also a great charity worker and raised millions of pounds for charity.

He was honoured for his charity work in 2001 when the Queen presented him with an MBE.

Sir Alan Sugar said "he was a very good friend" and "he was a great fella"

Beadle suffered from ill health in recent years (he was diagnosed with cancer in 2005) and died today after being admitted to hospital last week suffering from pneumonia.
]]> no@spam.com (Chief Editor) Wed, 30 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.dailyfix.co.uk/blogs/23/Jeremy-Beadle-dies-aged-59.html http://www.dailyfix.co.uk/blogs/22/Bread-making-at-home-is-about-more-than-just-saving-dough.html
But when you pop a couple of slices in the toaster, or use a couple of slices to sandwich your favourite filling have you ever thought about making bread at home?

You would benefit from knowing exactly what's put into something you probably eat daily, and from eating the freshest bread you're ever likely to eat.


So don't you need a lot of expensive equipment?
In a word, no. As long as you have a set of kitchen scales then you're ready to go (apart from a cooker of course). Yes, you can invest in a kitchen mixer with a bread hook attachment, but you certainly don't have to. In fact, some people would argue that hand kneeding produces better results that a kitchen mixer costing £300.

What ingredients do I need?
Flour, butter (or margarine), salt, sugar, yeast, warm water

More coming soon...
]]> no@spam.com (Chief Editor) Sat, 12 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.dailyfix.co.uk/blogs/22/Bread-making-at-home-is-about-more-than-just-saving-dough.html http://www.dailyfix.co.uk/blogs/21/The-iPhone-is-here-was-it-worth-the-wait.html
After waiting for what seemed like an eternity for the iPhone to reach the UK after we first saw Steve Jobs demo it at an Apple Conference the iPhone went on sale in the UK, exclusively at Carphone Warehouse and only on the O2 network.

Despite initially deciding not to purchase an iPhone, the hype and the marketing got the better of me and I gave in :) I've now been using my iPhone for 5 days, so do I still love it as much now as I did within 1 hour of using it last week?

Yes, Yes, YES!!!

It's not perfect, far from it, but it really seems like a leap forward in the mobile phone/internet device world.

What's great about the iPhone?

• Touch Interface - The touch interface is wonderful and takes about 10 seconds to feel perfectly at home with, surely we are going to see this as the user interface of choice over the coming months and years?
• Google Maps - Google Maps in the palm of your hand. Brilliant (though not so brilliant on the Edge network).
• Easily syncs most of your content using iTunes. Speaking as a Mac user, my iPhone now contains everything from my Calendar and Contacts database, as well as my Safari bookmarks, select iTunes tracks, podcasts, videos and over 1000 photos. And all of this is automatically kept up to date each time I dock the iPhone.

What's not so great about the iPhone?

• No 3G - If you are within striking range of a WiFi network then it's great, but don't get used to Wifi speed as you'll be left with an empty feeling inside when you have to resort to Edge (which may be easier said than done if my experience of the O2 network coverage is anything to go by!)
• Battery Life - You can almost see the battery meter ebb away when you are surfing using WiFi. Yes it will last a good few hours, which will probably be OK for most people before they get a chance to dock it, but heavy WiFi usage will certainly drain the battery fast.
• 8Gb Storage - Seems mean, wonder when we will see the 16Gb iPhone (or even bigger)
• No way of deleting multiple emails at the same time (at least no way I have found). Picture the scene, you are viewing your emails and you can see 5 or 6 emails in a row which are spam. It would be nice to be able to highlight all of these emails and delete them in one go. But no, you have to delete each one individually.

Conclusion - Should I have waited for iPhone 2.0?
Well when iPhone 2.0 sees the light of day (I'm guessing Q4 2008 or Q1 2009) it will no doubt address some of the shortcomings of the iPhone, but in the meantime let's enjoy the iPhone for what it is; a revolutionary device that will change the face of mobile communications. More to come over the coming months...]]> no@spam.com (Chief Editor) Wed, 21 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://www.dailyfix.co.uk/blogs/21/The-iPhone-is-here-was-it-worth-the-wait.html http://www.dailyfix.co.uk/blogs/20/Upgrading-Macbook-Pro-memory-RAM.html
4Gb represents the maximin amount of mamory for the 2.4Ghz Macbook Pro being used for the upgrade.

2Gb will serve many peoples needs without a problem, but if you regularly have multiple applications open at the same time then your Macbook Pro would probably benefit from upgrading the standard 2Gb of RAM.

The standard 2Gb comes installed as two 1Gb memory chips, so to upgrade to 4Gb you are going to have to remove both of these and replace them with two 2Gb chips.

Ours were purchased from Cruical for less than £100.

To start the upgrade process, close the laptop's lid and turn it over (placing on a soft surface to prevent scratching) so that the battery is visible.

Using the two sliding buttons either side of the battery release them so that the red indicator is visible. Then remove the battery.

The Apple website actually recommends "grounding" yourself on the metal plate (revealed when the battery is removed) to disperse built up static in your body.

The rest of this article will be completed shortly.
]]> no@spam.com (Chief Editor) Thu, 15 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://www.dailyfix.co.uk/blogs/20/Upgrading-Macbook-Pro-memory-RAM.html http://www.dailyfix.co.uk/blogs/19/Upgrading-an-Apple-Macbook-Pro-to-Leopard.html
However, you can order a copy of Leopard from Apple for free (you just pay the postage).

If you are lucky enough to have a new Macbook Pro you will be able to select the Erase and Install method of upgrading, but if your Macbook has been in use for a while and contains your important data then you will probably choose the Archive and Install option.

Archive and Install
This method of upgrade will archive old files and install Leopard. This will take more hard drive space due to the upgrade.
But for the purpose of this artice we are assuming you are performing an Erase and Install on a new Macbook.

Erase and Install

Let your new Macbook go through the initial setup for the previous operating system, then once your Macbook is ready to use install your Leopard upgrade DVD.

Click on the upgrade icon and select relevant options including:

1. Upgrade and install
2. Click "Options" to deselect the installation of printer drivers, extra language options etc. to save hard drive space (this could save you around 4Gb of hard drive space).
   

The system will check the installation DVD (this will take some time) and then continue with the installation. According to the screen this part will take around 20 minutes.

When this stage in complete your Macbook will reboot.

You will then see a video displaying "Welcome" in various languages and the install process will continue.

Select your country or region and keyboard layout.

You are then given the option to transfer data from a previous Mac if you have one.

Transferring information from another Apple Mac during upgrade
For the purpose of this blog we are assuming you are transferring data from another Mac. If you are not, you can skip this part of the blog.

1. First, select the option "from another Mac"
2. Attach a Firewire cable to your Macbook and your old Mac.
3. You will then need to restart your old Mac while holding the "T" key.
   

]]> no@spam.com (Chief Editor) Wed, 07 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://www.dailyfix.co.uk/blogs/19/Upgrading-an-Apple-Macbook-Pro-to-Leopard.html