IG Web Media Blogspot

The Slate PC, is it the next big thing?

2010-02-04T11:47:00.003Z

With the recent launch of the Apple iPad (not the coolest name, I agree!) the wave of 'Slate PC's' has started. All the top companies will be coming out with their own versions in the next few months. HP have a device, a clear challenge to the iPad, that will be running the Windows 7 OS and is controlled via a touchscreen interface. It has features that will make it popular for entertainment and business but pricing and availability will be crucial.

Archos and Asus have similar devices that are being prototyped at the moment, including Dell. The Dell device will run the open-source Android operating system but that's about as much as we know at present.

Watching the Gadget Show the other night they said that the iPad will follow in the iPhone's footsteps as 'the gadget to own in 2010' and I'll second that. Call me a sucker for the cool design (British designer of course!) and functionality, but you know the're right! The other companies will all be playing catch up just like they've been with the iPhone. Don't buy an e-Reader from Sony or the Amazon Kindle, save a bit more and get an iPad, it's the next big thing!

Ninite is a great time saver!

2010-01-22T13:45:00.001Z

Recently I had to complete a thorough rebuild of my laptop and came across this really great application called Ninite. Like most people I had a collection of applications that needed to be re-installed. So I simply just went to the web site and selected all the programs I needed. The software on offer is neatly laid out into sections including Web Browsers, Messaging, Media, Imaging and so on. When you have finished selecting your software then click on 'Get Installer' and just leave alone to get on installing everything you've asked for.

Simples....saved no end of time!

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Are you chatting via Trillian yet?

2010-01-20T11:50:00.001Z

I've recently checked out Trillian Astra 4 a really smart multi-protocol chat client. It supports most of the popular instant-messaging and social networks including Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo, AIM, Google Talk, Facebook, Twitter, Skype plus of course POP and IMAP email.

The slick interface allows you to chat by text, audio and video so give it a go today! It is currently only available for Windows, web and the iPhone but a MAC version is under development.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Remove unwanted programs at XP start-up...

2010-01-12T12:50:00.001Z

Personally I run both Mac and PC and now see how slow my XP powered PC is to start-up! The easiest way to speed up XP is to go to Start, Run and then type 'msconfig', without the quotes of course. Select the Startup tab and you'll see all the programs that start with Windows. Go through them and take out the tick against any that aren't necessary...Job done!

Blogged with the Flock Browser

FLOCK it! If you love your social media you've got to have this!

2010-01-11T16:46:00.003Z

Back at the blogface for 2010 and have just found plus am loving the Flock browser! If you are a social media addict then this is definately the one for you. It allows you to keep in touch through social media making it easier to share and publish your thoughts etc.

It integrates with all your favourites including Facebook, Gmail, Digg, Flickr, Twitter, Blogger, Wordpress and many more. In addition it has a cool People sidebar plus a Media bar that allows you to browse photos and vids from your favourite sites. Also you have a blog editor, a built-in feed reader, a photo uploader plus you can add numerous extensions and design toolbars.

It as all bases covered and knowing that it's powered by Mozilla reassures you that it's fast. Check it out and let me know what you think!

Tunechecker, a great music search engine

2009-12-04T13:34:00.002Z

We are all looking for the best deals on mp3 single and album downloads so why not use a cool search engine to find your next music download.

Tunechecker has been developed by moneysavingexpert.com and searches Tesco, Tune Tribe, WE7, Play.com, 7 Digital, Amazon, Orange, HMV and iTunes to find the best price. Not surprisingly Tesco Entertainment offers the best deals but I also like to review Amazon's bargain basements.

Check it out today and get the best value music downloads on the internet!

Share Large Files with Dropbox!

2009-11-10T16:06:00.003Z

Here's an excellent site that allows you to share your large files on-line. Dropbox once installed acts as an extra option in your System Tray allowing you to simply drag and drop files onto it. It can handle upto 250Mb and a total of 2Gb so that should cover most things. Simple and easy to use makes it a sure winner!

Ping into action and update your social networks, blogs, IM's

2009-11-09T16:57:00.003Z

I'm always on the look out for an easy to use tool that let's you update all your favourite social networks from one place. Well I've found it in Ping! It has a clear web-based dashboard that allows you to update your status on a variety of social networks plus the ability to post to blogs on services such as Wordpress and Blogger.

In addition you get support for web-based email accounts such as Google Mail, Yahoo Mail and Hotmail plus instant messengers, including Windows Live Messenger, Skype and others.

It's FREE and currently available for Firefox, IE and Safari so get a copy now!

Michael C Scott publishes his first book!

2009-11-04T15:11:00.002Z

I'm delighted to announce that one of my clients, Michael C Scott, has just published his first book called 'From Democrats to Kings' where he portrays 'The Brutal Dawn of a New World From the Downfall of Athens to the Rise of Alexander the Great'

He is currently the Moses and Mary Finley Research Fellow at Darwin College, Cambridge and is researching the ancient history and archaeology of the Greek and Roman worlds.

Review his site www.michaelcscott.com and catch up with all his latest news. This guy is going far and he's certainly not done too bad so far!

A New Cleaning Store opens for business!

2009-10-23T13:44:00.002+01:00

CSA Cleaning Store has its headquarters in Cottenham, just outside Cambridge and offers the highest quality machinery and chemicals for industrial and commercial cleaning applications.

If you require pressure washers, carpet cleaners, sweepers, polishers, scrubbers, vacuum cleaners, litter vacuums, window cleaning equipment, janitorial supplies, chemicals and paper products from top manufacturers, then look no further.

Please contact them today and speak to the cleaning experts!

Ventura Quality Systems : ISO Quality Consultancy goes live!

2009-10-23T13:27:00.003+01:00

IGWM is delighted to announce the launch of Ventura Quality Systems, the ISO 9001 Quality Consultancy in the Cambridge Area.

Launched in 2003 by ex – Motor Trade Dealer Principal Steve Bentinck A.M.I.M.I. Ventura Quality Systems offers a unique ‘hands-on’ approach to ISO 9001 as opposed to a purely advisory or coaching service.

Steve’s learning track began as a vehicle technician where he gained a distinction and credit in City & Guilds. He then moved through all areas of the Motor Trade such as Parts, Sales and Finance (producing management accounts and dealer composites), before finally settling as a Dealer Principal.

In 2003, having identified a need for specific partnership services for businesses with ISO 9001 accreditation, Steve left the Motor Trade and set-up Ventura Quality Systems, initially aimed at assisting Motor Trade related businesses with Quality Management Systems. The business rapidly expanded to include other lines of business, mostly but not entirely, related to transport.

More recently the Company has expanded it’s services to include Risk Assessments for Health & Safety Management. These are based around Ventura acting as the clients’ ‘responsible person’ and producing detailed and tailored Risk Assessments covering areas such as Manual Handling, COSHH, First Aid, RIDDOR, etc. Again the key focus is on assisting the client to act on the findings, not just report on them.

Ventura Quality Systems can keep your business Compliant!

RM Design & Print is GO!

2009-10-16T16:48:00.003+01:00

Today I have just launched a new web site for RM Design & Print. Based in Thaxted and covering Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Essex they provide the very best in design and print services. They are powered by printing.com so they are able to offer a vast range of printed products ranging from business cards, stationery, leaflets, booklets, posters, brochures plus loads more!

Checkout the web site today for a taste of what they can produce plus see the latest special offers! The quality of print and the vibrant ideas are just amazing!

Big Brother is watching your web images!

2009-10-13T16:07:00.002+01:00

Are you sure that all your images are legal?

The big stock photo companies, such as Getty & Corbis are employing companies such as PicScout to go through the web and check images, ensuring that they are correctly licensed. The software they use is very sophisticated and can track images regardless of whether they have been resized, flipped, coloured or embedded in a montage of other images.

The whole copyright issue around images is not cut-and-dried and for the inexperienced and experienced the differences between royalty free and rights managed is a bit of a minefield as different companies adopt different rules.
Don't just go to Google and grab an image and use it on your site however small as you could easily get caught out. Google just say, in nice small lettering, 'this image maybe copyrighted'. That covers them, but not you!

My favourite stock photo companies are IStockPhoto, Crestock and Fotolia as they have such a vast range of images, vectors, vids and logos to choose from.

Don't wait until you get a letter through the door demanding thousands, do something about it now! You have been warned....

Copy your favourite Youtube vids to disc...

2009-09-09T09:12:00.004+01:00

If like me you just love YouTube vids, then you just might want to copy them to your local disc sometime and watch them at your leisure. You can't download the video clips directly from YouTube but there's a great selection of tools out there that will help do it for you. I have found that Orbit Downloader works best for me. It's an all-round rich-media downloader that allows you to grab both standard, plus HD versions of vids.

Install and run the program, go to the Tools menu and select Grab++. In another window open YouTube and select the HD version (best quality) of your chosen video and then return to the Grab++ window and select it and click download. Save the MOV file with an appropriate name and there you have it.

Orbit Downloader is fast, free and has no spyware, adware and is my chosen rich media downloader of choice. Give it a whirl, you'll be impressed!

Radical Cool Bike Gear now available online!

2009-09-07T09:54:00.006+01:00

I'm delighted to announce the web launch of Ultimate Bike Gear Ltd ecommerce shop!
Mike and Lesley Frohock are the owners of the business and have a real passion for motorcycling. They are excited about their new range of 'bike gear with attitude' and the exclusive new ICON helmets from the States. I just love those chrome style helmets they're just so cool.. It's this sort of gear that makes me want to be a 'born again biker!'

Access favourite sites in Firefox....

2009-08-19T11:10:00.003+01:00

Just found a wonderful Firefox browser add-on that gives you quick access to your favourite sites from a simple start screen. It's just like the Chrome and Opera start screen versions and is very easy to navigate and change relevant settings.
They always say that everyone returns to their top 10 favourite sites, so now you can have them displayed as thumbnails on one page. Get Speed Dial now!

Checkout where your Twitter links take you!

2009-07-21T13:54:00.002+01:00

With the limited space of Twitter to get your message across the majority of users shorten their links within the 140 character Tweet limit. But where are these links taking you? To be on the safe side the best answer is to paste them into LongURL which will show you the real web address. It appears to work with all the popular shortening services such as TinyURL.

Love Extreme Sports, Love Freecaster!

2009-07-20T17:04:00.003+01:00

If you love your Extreme Sports then you must check out Freecaster TV, the place on the web for the greatest cool sports action. You can view your favourite stuff live as well as catch up with a great backlog of world events, shows and exhibitions.

My son and I are into our Mountain Biking, watching the Athertons, Peaty and Minaar but we also love some of the MX and BMX shows, just amazing.

Check out this awesome multi-Sports site it'll blow you away!

This made me smile!

2009-07-06T14:17:00.000+01:00

CAUTION!!

If you receive an email from the Department of Health telling you not to eat tinned pork because of swine flu, ignore it ...

...... it's spam

Boom, boom...

Need to partition your new monster drive?

2009-06-08T14:27:00.003+01:00

Look no further than the free hard disk partitioning tool Partition Master Edition from Easeus. It's not dissimilar to Partition Magic from Symantec and allows you resize, create, copy, format and delete disk partitions. The other handy thing is that it protects your data during any operations, making it a neat risk-free option.

I don't need to tell you to do a full backup before you do anything though, do I.
Take a look and partition your life!

Looking for Open Source for your MAC

2009-06-03T16:50:00.002+01:00

Having recently joined the 'World of Mac', I have been looking for a collection of open source software for Mac OS X to match the equivalent I have for PC. A quick trawl turned up the surprisingly named 'OpenSourceMac.org' which has a simple two page collection of what the site claims to be the best in the business. It's simply categorised and is an ideal starting point for new Mac users like myself. I really like QEmulator that allows you to run your favourite Windows programs, close to full speed.

Create a desktop universe with NetVibes...

2009-05-15T16:33:00.002+01:00

I just love the new desktop site NetVibes. It has had a serious makeover with a slick interface that allows you to build your own personalised, ultimate startup 'universe' page. Your personalised page can also be accessed anytime, anywhere and on any device. That's nice.. You can easily change the look and feel of the site by adding, dragging and dropping widgets around plus adding in your favorite feeds. You have tabbed categories to ensure everything's well organised. It also allows you to see your activity plus keep a track of the activity of other people's universes.

It's so cool...

Sign up for free and get the ultimate desktop, just the way you like it!

Are you looking for someone online?

2009-05-13T15:02:00.002+01:00

A friend has recently put me on to a cool site that allows you to find someone online. It's called 123 People and has a very clear simple interface plus it provides very detailed results from a wide variety of sources. I've just found someone based in Oz who I haven't seen or heard from for more than 15 years.
Check it out and see if you can find a long lost contact!

NTL/Virgin Media email is now hosted by Google...

2009-05-12T16:15:00.002+01:00

Back to the blogface after a few blog free weeks...

I've just read that Virgin Media's broadband customers, of which I count myself, now have all their email service hosted by the big G! They allow you to choose to have a new email address your.name@virginmedia.com plus allow existing customers to keep their @ntlworld.com and @virgin.net addresses.

The new service is based around Google Mail and comes with a nice 7GB storage!

If you can't beat'em join'em....

Sync your bookmarks with Xmarks..

2009-04-07T10:01:00.002+01:00

XMarks the spot!

If you haven't already found this great website-discovery engine and bookmark synching tool for Firefox(IE & Safari versions coming to a comp near you very soon) then you don't know what you're missing. With the 3 machines I've got it allows me to back up and synch my bookmarks across all of them, plus it also provides information about the site your on and offers suggestions for a comparable alternative.

This is just yet another great add-on that makes Firefox the browser king!