Author Archives: EwanMacDougal

What to do with your old computer equipment

Computer Aid Posted on by

With the rapid speed with which technology needs upgrading it is estimated that the average computer user will dispose of 3.5 tonnes of computer and electronic equipment in their life time.  This practice is not just bad for our bank accounts but also bad for the environment.  To help combat this many countries have bought in laws that regulate the disposal of electronic equipment, if you want to help do your bit for the environment whilst ensuring you aren’t breaking the law you would be advised to think carefully next time you decide to get rid of your computer equipment.

The problem with modern PC and Apple Computers is that they contain great number of toxic materials; in fact your computer’s monitor alone is likely to contain around 5lb of Lead if released into the environment can cause serious health problems for all those around.  These materials are harmless whilst they are sealed in your computer but if you dispose of it in the way you would your regular refuse as the computer is broken down these toxic materials are introduced into the environment.

Most countries have introduced strict laws governing how electronic items must be disposed of to try and reduce this kind of pollution.  Regardless of weather these laws apply to your country or not everyone has an ethical responsibility to avoid improper disposal of toxic materials.

The cleanest way to get rid of your electrical items is to find a new home for them, the vast majority of computers being thrown away still function perfectly fine it’s just that there owners have decided they need a more modern machine to meet there needs.  If this is the situation you find yourself in there may be other people around you who could use your computer.  Look for friends and family or even charities who may be interested in finding homes for out dated computers; to some people a computer is still about word processing and spread sheets to these people your computer could be of real use.

Even if your computer has stopped working it’s still likely that there are people out there who could find it useful, computers are made up of many components and the chances are a lot of them will still be working, there are people out there who build computers out of spare parts from other machines.  Ask around and look online to see if you can find anyone in your local area that could benefit from your computers parts.

Sometimes you really will have to dispose of your machine, if it does come to this make sure you do it in the most environmental way possible.  Many local councils will have sites where you can take computers or sometimes even collection services.  Computers at these sites are broken down properly with all the hazards components treated with the care needed.

If you’re not lucky enough to live in an area that offers this services for free, ask around in shops that sell new computers and electronics, these shops often have their own disposal service or can point you in the direction of one, it’s not always free but paying a small fee is better than breaking the law and damaging the environment.

It will always be easier to just throw your computer out with the rest of your house hold waste but doing this leaves lasting damage on the environment around you, this is one of those times in life when the easy option is definitely not the best one.

Is SaS the future of computing?

Computer Aid Posted on by

I guess the first question a lot of people will be asking is what is SaS?  SaS which stands for “software as a service” is becoming an increasingly common concept in the business world.  Instead of going to a shop and buying the latest software which is then there’s to use forever a lot of businesses now pay subscription fees to use the software.  This is most commonly used in a lot of business specific software like accounting software  but its success means that we could see it being adopted across the board and coming into our homes, in some instances it already has.

So why would we want SaS?

Affordability

There are a number of advantages to using SaS that could make this something we should welcome.  Firstly it allows us to pay for software in a more affordable way; by not having to invest such a large amount of money all in one go the price tags become less scary, a few pounds / dollars a month is much more viable to many home users than several hundred or even thousand pounds / dollars all in one go.  If it turns out you don’t like the software you can just stop paying and never spend anywhere near the hefty amount you could have wasted otherwise.

Flexibility

The flexibility of SaS only adds to the affordability and makes high end software available many who would normally not be able to afford it.  This is because we only pay for it when we are using it, so if you’ve previously not bought the best photo editor or accounting program because it was not worth it for the amount of time you would be using it this might now change.  SaS allows you to only subscribe when you need the software, so if your only using a month of Photo editing software just after your holiday to edit all those vacation snaps,   or a month of accounting software at the end of the tax year to get your books in order the chances are you will never end up spending the amount you would have if you bought the program in one go.

Staying up to date

We’ve all fallen victim to how quickly computers and software update, it can sometimes seem that just as soon as we’ve invested in the latest software package the next one comes out, and all of a sudden our work is no longer compatible or we start to want the latest features other people have.  With SaS you are always using the very latest version; even minor updates are instantly available to you without your payments changing, SaS means your money is always buying you the latest thing.

Commitment from the software company

The software company only makes money from you whilst you are using the software so they have an incentive to keep you using it as long as possible.  This means they will not only strive to keep the software as up to date and good as it can be but they will also offer you great technical support to make sure your getting everything you can out of it.  The company making the software have a much greater responsibility to offer you computer help so the days of having to solve problems for yourself by traipsing the internet could be over.

You can spend less money on your computer

Many SaS programs aren’t actually installed on your computer but are run on the computers of the software company that designs them.  You then connect to their computer using a high speed internet connection and use their machines to do your work from home.  This usually means that your computer doesn’t need to be the most expensive fast one to get results as all the hard work and processing power is being done elsewhere.  It’s the software companies that have to buy the super computer not you.

So what’s the catch?

Well if you use software a lot and don’t normally feel the need to upgrade to the latest and greatest program then it could over all end up costing you more than buying software in the traditional manner.  Software is also less likely to fall in price allowing you to find bargains if you get a slightly old version as we  move to a culture of just constantly updating software rather than releasing new versions.  You may also not be able to access your work if the internet goes don or you don’t have a connection however there will no doubt be ways around this.

SaS defiantly looks to be moving away from just being for businesses in the form of accounting software and luckily the advantages seem to outweigh the disadvantages.  However for many people who have become accustomed to buying a piece of software to keep forever it may be a big change to get used too.  If you’ve got a subscription to an antivirus service or even play online subscription games you have already seen the beginning of the change.

Cheap student Software

Computer Aid Posted on by

Microsoft software has become the standard for computer users the world over. There will always be debate over whether the products Microsoft offer are actually the best, but it cannot be denied that at the present time, for many people, knowing how to use a computer basically equates to knowing how to use the Windows operating system or being familiar with software packages such as Microsoft Office.

The familiarity Microsoft has with so many uses means that they are able to charge a particularly high price for the software they offer, and whilst businesses may be able to afford this cost it is prohibitive for many home users.

These heavy price tags are, however, avoidable. Microsoft know that the key to their future profits is in ensuring that tomorrow’s business leaders still see their products as the industry standard. It is therefore vital to Microsoft, that the penniless students of today learn how to use computers with Microsoft products.

To do this, Microsoft are making student licences available on much of their software. The price of this software in many instances is subsidised by Microsoft as an investment in their future. This means completely genuine and legal versions of programmes like Windows and Microsoft Office are being sold for up to 90% less than the price you would normally pay.

To get these discounts you need to find an educational retailer licensed by Microsoft such as Phoenix software for students which has an online shop.  As long as you have access to an email address linked to an educational establishment you are then able to purchase the software with a student license, making many Microsoft products affordable.

It’s not just Microsoft that offer these licences, many other major software manufacturers are offering big discounts to student customers in an attempt to retain the industry standard amongst future generations of business leaders. This means that many extremely powerful pieces of software such as Quark and Adobe Creative Suite could now be realistic options for the home user; professional results at home are now affordable.