Opinion

Opinion

• A date with HMRC

  To help businesses plan ahead in their tax and reporting obligations, HMRC has now made available their tax deadline calendar for 2011/12. A simple idea, it will help businesses establish when their key tax deadlines are, including the variable ...  Continue Reading

• Employment red tape to be untied?

  The Government has announced that it is to consider how it will reform other areas of employment law, including collective redundancy periods, TUPE (transfer of undertakings) legislation as well as compensation for discrimination.  Continue Reading

• Windows 8 next year? Probably

  Hold the phone. Microsoft has jumped in quickly to downplay comments by CEO Steve Ballmer that Windows 8 will be released next year. Should we surprise? No. Does this mean it won't be released next year? No.  Continue Reading

• Cisco sued over Chinese Falun Gong crackdown

  In a move that could have serious consequences for network suppliers, Cisco is being sued by the Human Rights Law Foundation on behalf of Falun Gong, a Chinese spiritual movement banned by Beijing.  Continue Reading

• Going loco?

  It was only a matter of time before stress at work became reclassified as psychosocial risk and the British Standards Institution developed s standard for it. Known as PAS 1010 (Publicly Available Specification) Guidance it covers the management of ...  Continue Reading

• Volcanic panic strikes again!

  Save a few airports in Scotland, British airspace remains open following the eruption of another Icelandic volcano, but that hasn't stopped HP from finding an opportunity to big up remote working and video conferencing.  Continue Reading

• Super-injunction farce could raise questions for networkers

  The sheer farce surrounding the breaching of so-called super-injunctions on Twitter has reached new heights in the past week.  Continue Reading

• Be careful what you say

  The giving of references goes to the core of the employer / employee relationship. Get it right and everyone's happy. Make an error and expect serious fallout. This principle applies to correspondence, which although not intended to be a reference ...  Continue Reading

• Perks not money

  A recent survey from insurer Canada Life asked 1308 people - online - what they wanted most from an employer when considering a new job. Interestingly, 62 per cent would take the benefits into account when deciding whether to jump or not.  Continue Reading

• New nightmare EC privacy regulations need to be explained

  The EC Privacy Regulations will have massive implications for the industry. But few people understand them.  Continue Reading

• Why are Cisco VoIP phones so hackable?

  Here's Bjoern Rupp, the CEO of GSMK Crypto phone, explaining why Cisco VoIP phones are such a profitable target for the law breaking community. Modern VoIP phones are specialised computers that just happen to look like phones.  Continue Reading

• Corporate Social Responsibility - how to conserve water in the company showers

  If you don't provide showers for your bike riding members of staff, they're likely to kick up a stink when they're in work. In more ways than one! But all that water consumption will play havoc with your corporate social responsibility strategy. An ...  Continue Reading

• Epilepsy Society and Citrix launch Android app

  A Citrix employee has created an app that could aid the recovery of epilepsy sufferers and raise awareness among the public.  Continue Reading

• Five minute interview: Lorna Riddle, Digium

  This week, MicroScope puts its questions to Lorna Riddle, European sales manager at Digium. What is the best/worst advice you have received and from whom? The best advice given to me by my Mother has to be to always wear sunscreen.  Continue Reading

• No favourites here

  It's reasonably well known that pregnant employees are protected, but how far can that protection go?  Continue Reading

• Nortel wins promotion to Premier League

  As the venerable comms and networking giant that was Nortel fades into memory, it's heartening to know that its name lives on ...after a fashion... So congratulations then, to Nortel FC of Monkstown.  Continue Reading

• Companies House fees rise

  As reported by Business Man on 8 February, Companies House is very keen to receive all submissions electronically rather than on paper. As a result, it announced that from April (last month, sorry about the delay) there is to be a new schedule of ...  Continue Reading

• Facebook get the INQ Cloud Touch - at £12 it sounds a good deal. There must be a catch.

  Here's the new INQ Cloud Touch, which is now available for £12 per month and promises you unlimited access to your Facebook Friends. Wherever you are. Unlimited? Everywhere? Even on the train? You'll have to wait for our review to come out. ...  Continue Reading

• Does dreadful service pay dividends? Ask TalkTalk

  Here's Talk Talk's newly released full year results for the year ending 31 March 2011.  Continue Reading

• Tru promises to end scam of ripping off mobile phone customers when they're abroad

  Tru has launched a new range of contract plans which, it claims, will give mobile users an alternative to the extortionate roaming charges. Any customer of a UK mobile operator who uses their mobile for voice and data abroad is currently clobbered ...  Continue Reading

• Our latest survey was an absolute bloody disaster, according to experts

  You won't hear this from any other agency, but we've decided that we're going to be different and, where possible, we'll try to be honest.  Continue Reading

• Don't laugh - Cloud Computing could save us from the drought

  Trailer: Water everywhere and not a drop to waste. The best way to manage your water is to know exactly where it is going and how it is being used. SuMo, some kind of cloud based sustainability software gadget, promises to do just that.  Continue Reading

• Pleb banned from drinking tea in IP row

  Have you noticed how some people in the office put practically a bath full of water in the kettle, every time they make a single cup of tea? After they've heated it up, they throw it away. What a waste of electricity!  Continue Reading

• No system is 100% secure says Sony chief. And he should know

  Sony boss Howard Stringer made some interesting comments about the recent hacking of its PlayStation Network and the theft of the personal data from more than 100 million accounts.  Continue Reading

• Avaya defeated by webcast gremlins

  It was heartening yesterday to see that even the finest minds in the comms industry can't always get technology right.  Continue Reading

• Investigations to be cut

  A report in The Guardian, indicates that the number of health and safety inspections is to be cut by a third whilst only high risk sites will be automatically inspected.  Continue Reading

• Corporate Social Responsibility - how Sentec technology could help you and your clients save water

  Smart water metering could help alleviate the suffering that this summer's drought will impose on the nation. Queens Award winner Sentec could be worth considering, if you're thinking of giving a CSR type freebie to one of your reseller partners or ...  Continue Reading

• Corporate social responsibility - resellers urged to share a shower to save water

  The average shower still uses 63 litres of water. If everyone in the UK shared a shower with a reseller, even once, we could save 1.5 billion litres of water. While the water companies waste huge amounts needlessly and some parts of the UK are ...  Continue Reading

• Corporate social responsibility - save the planet with a waterless car cleaner

  IT company car owners can do their bit for the environment with a waterless car cleaner. A trigger spray means you don't have to use a hosepipe and bucket to clean your car.  Continue Reading

• Are data centres a waste of space asks Roger Keenan, MD of City Lifeline

  Here's Roger Keenan, MD of City Lifeline, who seems to suggest that the data centre is a waste of space and could be doomed. Or does he? Read this fascinating history of technology and draw your own conclusions.  Continue Reading

• Memo to HP: Emails can be leaked

  Oh dear. HP has had to bring its results forward because a memo from CEO Leo Apotheker was leaked.  Continue Reading

• Maternity leave - get it right

  This might sound obvious, but employers need to be careful when bringing in staff to cover maternity leave. Section 106 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 allows for dismissal of someone brought in specifically to cover maternity leave once the ...  Continue Reading

• Aaron Zornes, data management evangelist. Tickets still available.

  Aaron Zornes is a recognised thought-leader in Master Data Management and Governance, says a press release from Kalido.  Continue Reading

• Missing out on a tax break

  According to a north western firm of accountants, Mitchell Charles worth, small businesses in England are missing out on £400 million in Small Business Rate Relief.  Continue Reading

• Is Google's Chromebook the right idea in the wrong place?

  Google's Chrome book seems to me to be a good idea but not necessarily one that is being executed in the right way. As others have remarked, there is an issue over what you do with a machine that runs on a browser-based OS if you're not able to ...  Continue Reading

• Sharing online revenue a model that could go beyond AVG

  The moves made by AVG to share online revenue rewarding those resellers that have introduced a customer to the vendor is one that could have some legs across other sectors.  Continue Reading

• New statutory rates

  In case you missed the announcements, the standard rate of Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP), Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP) and Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP) has now increased for payment weeks starting on or after 3 April 2011, from £124.88 to &...  Continue Reading

• Why has Nuance bought Equitrac? To take out the competition or to complement its range?

  Nuance Communications is to buy Equitrac, a specialist in print management and cost recovery software used by 25,000 organisations worldwide.  Continue Reading

• Government has a role to play in fighting piracy

  There will have been few eyebrows raised at the announcement that the UK software piracy figures have stayed the same at 27% with a quarter of the country using unlicensed products.  Continue Reading

• Lifting the veil

  It's often thought that individuals running a business through a company are protected from personal liability. However, a recent High Court case - Brewer v Stanley Mann, Fortis Lease UK Limited and Stanley Mann Racing Limited - reinforces the fact ...  Continue Reading

• Apprentice latest. Vincent Disneur squeezes in a quick plug (and a couple of oranges)

  Breaking news this afternoon from the world of The Apprentice, where it emerges the BBC may have unwittingly violated its rules on advertising.  Continue Reading

• Microsoft $8.5bn takeover of Skype isn't Music to Google's ears

  Microsoft has been in the shadow of Google for some time now when it comes to the Internet but the software giant got its own back big time yesterday by totally upstaging Google's announcement of its cloud streaming Music service.  Continue Reading

• "I love you" loses top spot in Big Lie 100 to email marketing fib "Win an Ipad"

  The Big Lie 100, the league table of the biggest lies in modern society, has a new leader. "Your Cheque's in the post" was overtaken five years ago to concede second place to one of the new breed of email marketing lies that are dominating the ...  Continue Reading

• Cookie Monster V2

  On April 8 BusinessMan reported that the Government has to bring into effect new EU legislation on website cookies. That legislation is now coming into law on 26 May - earlier than anticipated.  Continue Reading

• Don't repeat the mistakes of the outsourcing debacle

  Cloud service is less nebulous than outsourcing says Savvis. A detailed breakdown of cloud services makes them more likely to succeed. At Data Centre 2011 in Nice Neil Cresswell (Left) MD for Savvis EMEA, outlined why cloud computing won't repeat ...  Continue Reading

• Steve Jobs: business genius or football manager?

  Apple CEO Steve Jobs has a reputation for being tough but the latest anecdote about the less than perfect launch of its MobileMe online service in 2008, shows that a brutal boss can also be, intentionally or otherwise, quite funny.  Continue Reading

• Pensions Bill Passed

  The House of Lords has just passed the Pensions Bill, leaving it to complete the House of Commons (which means that it can be considered a shoe-in) before it goes for Royal Assent. This means that we're half way there to having auto-enrolment of ...  Continue Reading

• Cloud testing services could make NHS IT disasters a thing of the past

  Here's Fred Beringer, who could save the British tax payer millions of pounds, with a new improved cloud service for testing IT systems. The NHS's terrible record of offensively expensive IT failures could be ended by new efficient testing systems ...  Continue Reading

• Tech Data stakes a claim to the Cisco Cius

  Over in the States, C2000 and Azlan-parent Tech Data has staked claim on Cisco's upcoming Cius tablet, announcing it will make the device available to Cisco Advanced UC partners from the end of May.  Continue Reading

• Handsome Vince is all set for Apprentice glory

  After the gift to blogging that was Stuart Baggs, Network Noise hardly dared hope that its luck might hold for the next series of The Apprentice. But believe it or not, the comms channel will once again be represented, and we can't wait for the new ...  Continue Reading

• Rip it up and start again

  Members of the public, businesses and community organisations are being invited to help rip up some of the 21,000 rules that are getting in their way.  Continue Reading

• Would you like data insurance with that?

  The channel has long known the challenges getting credit insurance but moves being made by Sony could potentially force insurers to consider the risks of providing cover for those handling large amounts of customer data.  Continue Reading

• Cloud computing will fail unless you have the people skills to lead technical staff, says Colt

  Mark Leonard, Colt's executive VP for infrastructure, says internal resistance will be the biggest barrier to cloud acceptance. He explains how they it be overcome You have to recognise that for most people in your organisation, cloud computing ...  Continue Reading

• Co-location? I was so unimpressed I bought a company

  For ten years Alex Rabbetts, as MD of consultancy Migration Solutions, has advised clients on designing and building data centres. So he's seen many a co-location outfit and frankly, he was so unimpressed, he decided to buy a company and do it ...  Continue Reading

• 21st century (wo)man

  The Government, in its Green Paper, 'A state pension for the 21st Century', has set out its thoughts on how to simplify the system for future pensioners. It includes a single-tier state pension currently estimated at around £140 a week, set above ...  Continue Reading

• Outrage over Foxconn's 'no suicide' pledge is a year late

  Foxconn has been making all the wrong sorts of headlines in recent months over the treatment of workers at its factories in China. Those factories have made products for a number of vendors, such as Apple, Dell, HP, Nintendo and Nokia.  Continue Reading

• Spring PAYE alert for employers

  HMRC has issued an alert to employers about key PAYE changes that have or are coming in this spring. The changes affect Employer Annual Returns and starter and leaver PAYE forms.  Continue Reading

• The first casualty of business is English

  I don't mean to be unfair by singling out one individual in the IT industry when so many others are guilty of the same offence, but the following quote from Dick Fens, chief executive at Bull UK and Ireland, from a story on MicroScope today.  Continue Reading

• The good news? Outsourcing is big business. The bad news? Outsourcing is big business

  The good news is that outsourcing is big business. According to the Business Services Association, there are now 340,000 people working in IT outsourcing and it contributes £24.7bn to the UK economy.  Continue Reading

• EU doesn't want to be late

  The European Union has adopted the European Late Payments Directive, which, by 16 March 2013 at the latest, will bring in 30 day payment terms.  Continue Reading

• Bad news for O2 customers

  Now could be a good time  Continue Reading

• What is a document?

  You probably think that a document is something that can only be paper based. However, a recent ruling involving HMRC in pursuit of their powers to examine had led to the courts interpreting documents to include computers, ipods and iPhones.  Continue Reading

• Checking out cheques

  If you are a business that still accepts cheques as a method of payment, so long as a cheque guarantee card is supplied, you need to be aware of the withdrawal of the cheque guarantee card scheme from the end of June this year.  Continue Reading

• Apple overtakes Microsoft on revenue and profit

  A landmark of sorts was reached this month when Apple overtook Microsoft in terms of revenue and profits in the respective companies' most recent quarterly financial results. The difference in the figures from a revenue perspective are quite ...  Continue Reading

• Offshore tax evaders

  HM Revenue & Customs is reminding tax evaders hiding money offshore that they can now face new penalties of up to 200 per cent. Penalties for offshore non-compliance - for income tax and capital gains tax - will now be linked to the tax transparency...  Continue Reading

• There's more to IT projects than cutting costs

  Interesting to see that cost-cutting has slipped down the agenda when it comes to investing in IT, at least according to the Pearlfinders Q1 Technology Index. The Index, which monitors trends and opinions in the IT world, says cost-cutting is now ...  Continue Reading

• Pool car going for a swim?

  HMRC are known to be vigorous when it comes to pursuing tax it believes is owed and the case of Securidoor proves the point well.  Continue Reading

• Is Stephen Elop the right man to run Nokia?

  Nokia today announced it is to dump its Symbian software activities on Accenture and give 4,000 employees the heave-ho, with the UK particularly badly affected. This has led some to ask the question: is former Redmond man Stephen Elop a Trojan horse...  Continue Reading

• Is the Samsung ML 3310 ND printer a beast or a puppy?

  Every day, productivity in the IT in Context office is threatened by a monster who wants to invade the premises and eat every piece of paper she can get her teeth on. We call this monster Molly. (See left) But Molly isn't the most dangerous paper ...  Continue Reading

• Agency workers regulations

  The Government has now published guidance to accompany the Agency Workers Regulations that comes into force on 1 October of this year.  Continue Reading

• Dead Men Don't Read Mailshots - Capscan's new service will save you from investigating phoney leads

  Scenes from the Steve Martin film Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid, a spoof on the genre of tough guy private detectives, usually played by Humphrey Bogart. Do Dead Men Read Junk Mail? If not, Capscan can save you from investigating dead leads.  Continue Reading

• The world strongly supports intellectual property rights

  Intellectual property rights - copyrights, patents and trademarks - provide the legal framework necessary for creative enterprise like commercial software development to flourish, writes Robert Holleyman.  Continue Reading

• Royal Wedding fever. Track the happy couple on your mobile!

  With just three breathless days to go until the wedding of the century, we're pulling out all the stops to bring you the latest network and mobility innovations to help you get the most out of the big day.  Continue Reading

• Incorporate now

  If you are in the early stages of setting up a new business or you are an existing, but unincorporated business, say a partnership or sole trade, and now may be a good time to consider changing to a limited company.  Continue Reading

• Minimum Wage Rises

  As is the custom, the Government has accepted the recommendations of the Low Pay Commission in terms of the new rate for the National Minimum Wage.  Continue Reading

• Exporting help

  More British exporters, including many SMEs, are now eligible to apply for short term credit insurance from ECGD, the UK export credit agency. ECGD's short term insurance has previously only been available for capital exports, making it of interest ...  Continue Reading

• Don't get stung by mobile roaming charges - get stung by something else

  Tru, formerly known as Truphone, is a mobile network operator that promises you the option of making mobile calls and internet searches while you're abroad, without getting trollied by the mobile roaming charge racket.  Continue Reading

• Get some protection

  Small businesses need to do more to protect and exploit their innovations, according to research published by the Intellectual Property Office.  Continue Reading

• Buying protection for your iPad and iPhone on Speck

  Speck is the worldwide leader (isn't everyone?) in iPad, iPhone, MacBook cases and covers. It also sells a massive range of other electronic device accessories. I quite like this Cobalt Blue skin for the iPad. (Ahem. Cough. Are you listening PR ...  Continue Reading

• Withings launches blood pressure monitor for Smart phones

  Here's the new Blood Pressure Monitor from Withings. You use the computing power of your Smart phone to manage the blood pressure measuring equipment and the system can automatically phone your doctor if anything odd happens. A brilliant gift for ...  Continue Reading

• When you're staggering home, bent over double in agony.. BOA has an app for that

  Sometimes, late at night, I find myself weaving along the street, bent over double as I stare at the pavement, wishing I hadn't indulged myself and desperate for the agony to end.  Continue Reading

• Baffling headline: StorageCraft Releases ShadowProtect Granular Recovery for Exchange v6.1

  What can it mean?  Continue Reading

• Is Blinkbox about to move to a tax haven?

  Tesco has announced the acquisition of a majority stake in video-on-demand pioneer  Continue Reading

• New tax penalties

  A new penalty regime for late filing and late payment of Income Tax through Self-Assessment started in April and a tax return filed six months late could attract a penalty of at least £1,300.  Continue Reading

• Security and Cloud Computing are strange bedfellows. Cloud security is too immature

  Here's Mateen (or Marteen - they've spelt it both ways) Greenway, HP Fellow, on the immaturity of the cloud computing model. As sightings of the Face of Jesus in the Cloud become more frequent, we thought it was time someone carried out a maturity ...  Continue Reading

• Relief ahead for overloaded 3G networks, says Juniper Research

  In recent months Network Noise has been on its own little crusade (in a manner of speaking) to raise awareness of the parlous state of Britain's mobile network infrastructure and the lengths that the network operators will go to stop people getting ...  Continue Reading

• Crackdown on drink and drug driving

  A package of measures to tackle drink and drug driving has been announced by the Government. Drivers need to know that improved testing equipment to detect drink and drug drivers is to be bought and changes will be made to "streamline" enforcement ...  Continue Reading

• Mobile marketing has terrible tacky associations

  This is just in from Velti, which says it's supplying one of the UK's largest newspaper publishers with mobile marketing services and campaigns. It will do this by integrating its mobile CRM platform across Johnston's 18 daily newspapers, 253 weekly...  Continue Reading

• Screen saver blues for Dixons: 28 years of MicroScope funnies (13)

  A Scope staffer was taking a wander around the Dixons in Heathrow Airport back in 2002, marveling at all the wonderful electronic gadgets for sale. Settling his gaze on a laptop, our man's eyes were drawn to the screen saver message scrolling across...  Continue Reading

• Location, location, location: 28 years of MicroScope funnies (12)

  Last week we recounted the story about the poor people working at Wang's offices in Cologne who had to answer the phone with the following words: "Wang - Cologne." But Wang wasn't the only company with a name that suffered from unfortunate ...  Continue Reading

• Email marketing doesn't have to be cheesey, but it does have to work, says Message Horizon

  We asked: Is Email marketing too cheesy? We got a massive response.  Continue Reading

• Keep details up-to-date with HMRC's free electronic service

  HM Revenue & Customs are quite keen to tell taxpayers that notification of changes to their circumstances can be made any time of the day or night, 365 days a year, with its electronic change of circumstances service. If taxpayers have moved...  Continue Reading

• Angels swoon over Roll's sausage role play: 28 years of MicroScope funnies (11)

  Back in 1995, then Microsoft Office product manager Oliver Roll was making a presentation to top executives at London temping agency Office Angels.  Continue Reading

• Times were hard back then: 28 years of MicroScope funnies (10)

  If you think times are tough now in the computing industry, you should have seen it in the early days.  Continue Reading

• Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, IBM salesman: 28 years of MicroScope funnies (9)

  Back in the days of the cold war, two IBMers in Moscow on business got into a conversation about espionage. "I'd be careful if I were you," said the first one, "your hotel room is liable to be bugged."  Continue Reading

• Debt collection guidance

  The OFT has launched a 12-week consultation on its updated Debt Collection Guidance. The new guidance will confirm that it applies to all businesses involved in debt recovery, including creditors as well as debt collectors and purchasers, lenders, ...  Continue Reading

• Britain should not fear Huawei

  Huawei announced today that it is to double its UK workforce, hiring 500 people by 2014 in engineering, management and sales roles, and creating an additional 1,500 subcontracting jobs.  Continue Reading

• A nasty blow in foreign climes: 28 years of MicroScope funnies (8)

  A foreign junket paid for by a favourite vendor was always a welcome diversion for hard-working resellers back in the 90s. It still is, even now, but such trips are far fewer than they used to be.  Continue Reading

• Want to hack a computer? Hire an accountant

  [PR Company didn't provide a picture. Tut!] PwC (AKA Price Water House Cooper, AKA Monday) is teaching its staff computer hacking. Brilliant idea! Hacking is a fascinating, sexy subject. Most of us are sensible enough not to do it, but you have to ...  Continue Reading

• Is email marketing too cheesey these days? Or does it work?

  Below is a typical example of modern email marketing. This column asks: is email marketing outdated? Does email marketing actually work these days? Isn't it too intrusive? Does it work? Could email marketing help you sell your cloud computing ...  Continue Reading