Lexington IT

Directory listings

admin — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 14:18:29 +0000

We’ve added the site to a few directories over the past few weeks, including:

The Cheltonian:
http://www.thecheltonian.com/directoryView.asp?ID=112

Great British Life (search for a company called Lexington):
http://directory.greatbritishlife.co.uk/directory/gbl/Search.aspx

Visit Gloucestershire:
http://www.visit-gloucestershire.co.uk/cgi-bin/search/go.cgi?id=17565
http://www.visit-gloucestershire.co.uk/directory/Cheltenham/Business_and_Economy/Computers_and_Internet/lexington_it_17565.html

Start Your Own Business:
http://www.syob.co.uk/gloucestershire/cheltenham/business-directory.php

In UK Local:
http://cheltenham.inuklocal.co.uk/BusinessServices/ITServicesandProducts/LexingtonITLtd100628

Openoffice default file type

Ian — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 12:33:18 +0000

Another OpenOffice tip…! OpenOffice normally saves files in it’s own format. If you want to change this default to another file type, then this can be done in the Options settings. For example, to change the default format for documents to Microsoft Word format :

1. Open a new document in OpenOffice
2. Click on the Tools menu option on the OpenOffice menu bar.
3. Click on the “Options” option at the bottom of the list.
4. A dialog box will appear.
5. Click on Load/Save.
6. Optionally, uncheck in “Warn when not saving in ODF or default format”.
7. Select Microsoft Word 97/2000/XP in the list under “Always save as”
8. Click OK.
9. Quit OpenOffice. From now on, new documents will be saved in Word format.

Internet Traffic Management

Ian — Sun, 30 May 2010 12:25:30 +0000

Does your internet download speed grind to a halt when you’re uploading data or files ? If so, you may benefit from changing the way that your Linux PC or server handles internet traffic through a process know as “traffic shaping”. It’s plenty technical for those interested, but is similar to the principle behind the variable speed limits that we’ve seen on certain sections of motorway i.e. a constant flow is better than too fast traffic, which causes “bunching” and queues.

Famous!

admin — Wed, 26 May 2010 10:01:20 +0000

Here’s a link to some pictures from a Cheltenham Chamber of Commerce event that we went to earlier in the year, at the Hotel on the Park.

Picture 7 features yours truly – I look to be really enjoying that glass of Champagne! I’m standing next to Jon Leamon, the Deputy Chief Exec of the Chamber.

No sign of Mr Gale in the pictures… Tucking into the canapés no doubt!

BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT

Ian — Mon, 24 May 2010 09:06:18 +0000

Ian is delighted to have been appointed as a committee member of the Cheltenham branch of BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT. Formerly known as the British Computer Society, the BCS is the UK’s industry body for IT professionals, and the leading Chartered Engineering Institution for IT. Ian is looking forward to the opportunity to build on the success of the branch and help further the BCS mission to promote wider social and economic progress through the advancement of information technology science and practice.

DIY IT

admin — Wed, 12 May 2010 15:00:18 +0000

It’s interesting how many people do their IT themselves. Just as you trust your accountant to do your book-keeping, so you need a professional to manage your IT.

We know that most small businesses can’t justify a full-time member of staff dedicated to IT, so someone becomes the “expert” and gets distracted from the job they’re being paid to do. We provide individually tailored support packages to meet your business’ needs. We provide an actively-managed solution, meaning that apart from fixing any unexpected problems as they arise, we employ the latest techniques to identify issues with your systems before they happen; your downtime is minimised and you can concentrate on running your business.

Here are a couple of sites carrying the press release:
http://www.free-press-release.com/news-new-and-exciting-it-company-offers-complete-actively-managed-it-solutions-to-cheltenham-businesses-1273675600.html
and
http://prlog.org/10675081

Speeding up your e-mail

Ian — Wed, 12 May 2010 09:23:20 +0000

You can substantially speed up the process of opening, searching or filing emails by a local server act as a mail server. This means that all this data is sent across a local high speed connection, rather than a slower internet link. Contact us to see if your email is being handled as effectively as possible.

Networking

admin — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 09:37:49 +0000

A very busy couple of weeks for the Lexington IT team! The sun may be shining but we’ve been keeping our tans pale… We’ve been working with existing clients, new clients and potential clients.

We had a very enjoyable evening last week at the Cheltenham Chamber of Commerce Spring Networking Event. It was at the Hotel du Vin which is a great venue. We met lots of interesting people and made some very useful contacts…

OpenOffice and Mail Merging

Ian — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 09:16:01 +0000

I was asked recently if OpenOffice supported a feature called Mail Merge. In short, yes it does. It’s a very effective way to generate personalised mailings and can use a wide variety of data sources to customise each letter or even email. Call us now if you want any advice on how you can use your IT more effectively.

Free Operating Systems

admin — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 16:00:35 +0000

It’s very easy to think that the only operating system (‘OS’) choice is Windows, particularly when you’re buying a new PC or laptop. However, there are other choices – and some of them are free.

We’re very keen on Linux as it’s fast, stable, secure and free. We can supply PCs and laptops built to your requirements with Linux already installed. Ask us for a demonstration of Linux and what it can do for you.

One last thought. Did you know that Google and Amazon use Linux to run their websites?