An investigation by consumer watchdog ‘Which?’ has highlighted how millions of people around the UK are using old routers with security flaws. The Investigation The Which? investigation surveyed 6,000 UK adults and, with the help of Red Maple Technologies, looked at the security aspects of 13 models of (commonly used) old routers from companies such as Virgin, Sky, TalkTalk,…
In this article, we take a brief look at ten popular programming languages and what they’re used for. Recent History What we would recognise as the first computer programming languages date back to the 1940s, were very specialised and were based on mathematical notation. The 1950s saw the development of the first compiled programming language ‘Autocode’, at the University of…
In this article we look at ‘business intelligence’, how it can be obtained, and why it’s important. Business Intelligence Business Intelligence refers to how a company/organisation can use its historical data to improving strategic decision-making and thereby provide a (hopefully sustainable) competitive advantage. What Data? In day-to-day operations, businesses and organisations generate, receive, gather, and store large amounts of…
It has been reported that NYPD has cancelled its contract with the company that supplied its ‘robot dog’ after the robot’s militarised appearance increased tensions with civilians at a difficult time for police relations. What Robot Dog? The robot ‘dog’ nicknamed ‘Digidog’ was ordered last year by the NYPD from specialist robot company Boston Dynamics and was intended mainly…
Changing consumer habits due to lockdown are believed to have been a big factor in Amazon’s Q1 profits being a massive three times larger than last year. Huge Profit Growth in Just One Year In the first 3 months of 2020, before the first lockdowns for the pandemic, Amazon recorded a $2.5bn profit. Fast forward to the first 3 months of…
In this article we look at image optimisation, the different types of compression and image files, and how files different file formats can be compared and best used. Vectors or Bitmaps? Raw, digital image files start as either vectors or bitmaps/rasters/pixel maps. Bitmaps are made from pixels whereas vectors are made using mathematical formulas, co-ordinates and geometry. Vector image…
In this article, we take a brief look at what an MSP is, what services they provide, and what benefits businesses get from using an MSP. MSPs A Managed Service Provider (MSP) is a company that delivers outsourced IT services and support to businesses and organisations. The MSP remotely and proactively, manages, monitors, updates, reports on (and has responsibility…
With BT Openreach officially setting the timeframe for switching off PSTN/ISDN, we look at what this means for businesses. ISDN an PSTN Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN), which really came into being in the 1990s, is a set of communication standards that are used for simultaneous digital transmission of voice, video, data, and other network services over the digitised…
This article takes a brief look at what private browsing actually means with popular browsers and software, and how genuinely private browsing could be achieved. Why Browse Privately? Over 80 percent of websites use one or more tracking tools (Epic) and reasons for private browsing may be to avoid having your browsing history recorded, perhaps being on a shared or…
Following last week’s leak of proposed new rules about the use of AI systems, The European Commission looks likely to ban some “unacceptable” usage of AI in Europe. The Leak and the Letter This latest announcement that the European Commission aims to ban “AI systems considered a clear threat to the safety, livelihoods and rights of people” (and thereby “unacceptable”) follows…
