March/April ’17 Newsletter

I hope you are fit and well. Here’s a roundup of the latest IT news.

Freeserve/Wanadoo Email Service.

After about 20 years of service, Orange has decided that they are to cease their email service completely, from the end of May. This means that anybody with a Freeserve, FSNet or Wanadoo email address will have their emails completely stopped from 31^st May 2017.

Here’s what they have said about it:

After many years of service, Orange Email will close on 31 May 2017. This means that from this date onwards, you will not be able to access or view your old emails and contacts. We’re letting you know now, so that you can sign up to a new account and back up any information that you want to save.

Why we’re closing our email service
When Orange Email was first introduced, most people used basic email accounts provided by their broadband providers. Since then, many companies like Google and Microsoft have launched free email services that are capable of much more than Orange Email was ever set up to deliver. As a result, the number of users has declined, so we’ve decided to close Orange Email and suggest a better alternative.

What you need to do now
Switch to a different email address by 31 May 2017 (please see how below). You also need to update any other online accounts or services that use your Orange Email. For example, your online banking or utilities accounts.

Setting up a new email address
Switching your email address is easier than you might think. You can keep all your old emails and contacts, and you’ll end up with a much better email service. There are lots of great options out there, but we can help you get set up with Google’s free email service Gmail.

Here’s why Gmail is one of the most popular in the UK:
✔    Access your emails on your mobile
✔    Simple email address format, ending with @gmail.com
✔    A massive 15GB free storage
✔    Advanced search makes it easy to find specific emails fast

Find out how to switch
To make your switch as easy as possible, we’ve created a handy online How To guide. This helps you set up a new Gmail account, back up your old emails in Gmail and let your contacts know about the change.

So, if you, or anybody you know still uses a Freeserve email address, you MUST set up a new email address. If you need me to come and do it for you I would be happy to help set up a new email account and transfer everything across for you.

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge

I have just bought the new Samsung S7 Edge. Quite simply, it’s the best phone I’ve ever used. You can keep your snazzy Iphone or anything else, this is the one. I’ve had it for a week now and the more I use it, the more I love it. Saying that, Samsung will be launching the successor, Galaxy S8, in April, but who cares. I decided to buy it outright, rather than taking a 2 year contract, and I have a very good SIM only deal with Vodafone. So, if you're coming to the end of your phone contract or just want a change, I can strongly recommend the Samsung S7. Of course I’d be happy to come and set everything up for you if you don’t feel confident to do it yourself.

Cloud Storage

As you know, I’m always nagging you to ensure your computer; tablet and smartphone are being backed up regularly.

If you own an Apple device, and if they have been set up properly, they should automatically be being backed up to your Icloud account. Icloud is a great system and works extremely well. If you're not sure if your Apple computer, Ipad or Iphone are backing up to your Icloud account, then I’d be happy to check them for you.

However, Windows and non-Apple devices are NOT as simple, and need to be setup properly, in order to make sure they’re being backed up regularly.

The best Cloud services are Dropbox and One Drive. Anyone who has a Microsoft Account, ie a Hotmail or Outlook.com or if you have Microsoft Office 365 account, will already have One Drive as part of your account. This will not only give you plenty of online storage to save your documents, pictures etc, but also free online services, such as Calendar, Address Book, Notes, and many more toys to play with.

Drobox is also fantastic and a great way to upload and keep your valuable files safe and secure, and accessible from any computer or device, from anywhere in the world. It also allows you to share your files with anyone you choose, securely.

If you would like help in understanding and using these services, please call or email me.

Password Savers.

I make no apologies for repeating what I said in my last newsletter regarding passwords. Remembering passwords is a real pain, and everybody at some time will have a problem with remembering passwords for various websites. So, the best and simplest and cheapest way is just to WRITE THEM DOWN. I don’t mind where you do it, in a notebook or tattoo them on your body, just please write them down somewhere safely.

However, I have, for many years, used a great programme called Roboform. Not only will it save your web passwords, but the main reason why I use it is as a web Form Filler. So when you come across a form that needs to be filled in, it will automatically fill in your name, address, phone numbers etc. at the click of one button. It’s so clever. You can choose to store as much or little information in Roboform as you wish, including credit and debit card details.

The free version will also save up to 10 web passwords, but if you need more than 10, then you can buy the Pro version for a one off fee of about £30. There’s also an online version which means that all your devices, computers, tablets etc will have the same information synchronised. You can get all the information at www.roboform.com or I can come and set it all up properly for you.

And finally….

A little puzzle for you.

3 flatmates, Tom, Dick and Harry go down to the local shop to buy a radio. They see one they like and pay £30 for it. So they each put in £10 and buy it. However, the shopkeeper who is a very honest chap realises once they’ve left the shop, that he has overcharged them for it. It should only have been £25, not £30. He sees their friend George walking passed his shop and calls him in and explains what’s happened. He gives George £5 back and asks him to give it back to Tom, Dick and Harry. But George is a bit greedy, and decides to only give the boys back £3 (£1 to each of them), and he keeps the other £2 for himself.

So the boys have actually paid £9 each. 3 x £9 =£27 plus the £2 George kept himself, which makes £29 in total. WHERE HAS THE OTHER £1 GONE?????????

That’s it for this month. Remember I’m always here if you need any help or advice.