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Facebook has recently informed over 530 million users that, in 2019, they were exposed to a data breach. The criticism that followed has prompted some to ask: what is happening?  What data breach?  The details of 530 million Facebook users were reportedly exposed on a hacker’s forum. The data breach included phone numbers, Facebook IDs, names, and … Continue reading Tech insight: What is happening about the huge Facebook data leak? →

People across the UK have lost jobs as a result of the pandemic. However, new features from Microsoft’s LinkedIn could help the country’s jobseekers.  The challenge for jobseekers  Many LinkedIn users may find themselves in the unemployment battlefield, trying to stand out from the rest. They may be capable of fulfilling job roles but may not have all the … Continue reading Tech news: Microsoft and LinkedIn’s new features to help UK jobseekers →

Huge demands on Microsoft’s data centre servers, partly driven by a surge in Microsoft Teams user numbers has led to the tech giant opting for liquid-immersion cooling. The Challenge Microsoft has recognised that it has now come up against the slowdown of Moore’s Law as transistor widths have shrunk to atomic scales and are reaching … Continue reading Tech News : Liquid Cooling To Maintain Microsoft’s Data Centres →

We all take lots of photos with our smartphones, so here is a selection of some of the best free places to share (and back up) photos. – Google Photos. Just having a Gmail account gives access to this service you can share photos with family, friends, or teammates, create albums, and grant access to … Continue reading Tech Tip – Free Ways to Share Photos →

On March 23 2020, a national lockdown was imposed in the UK to help combat coronavirus. A year later, Jonathan Smy from SMY IT Services, takes a moment to reflect on what has been a very challenging 12 months for us all. It’s been an unprecedented year – a word that has been used time … Continue reading One Year of Working from Home →

Many of us charge phones and laptops overnight but is this good for the battery and is it potentially dangerous, and how can we safely get the most from our device batteries? Batteries Smartphone and laptop batteries are Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion). These batteries have high energy density so they can be made small, while their rate … Continue reading Featured Article : Risks or Benefits of Charging Devices Overnight? →

With the world facing a considerable semiconductor microchip shortage, we take a look at the causes and effects of the shortage plus some potential solutions. Why Is This Important? Microchips are now included in virtually everything from watches to white goods and crucially in larger, high demand, big industry items such as cars.  Many products … Continue reading Tech Insight – The Global Microchip Shortage →

In a move to provide more business intelligence, Amazon is launching a new tool that monitors key performance indicators (KPIs) to detect ‘anomalies’ so it can alert the business to potential problems. Lookout For Metrics ‘Lookout For Metrics’ is the name of the new service from Amazon Web Services (AWS) which uses machine learning for … Continue reading Tech News : New Amazon AI Tool Monitors Your Business KPIs →

Google is launching its ‘Stack’ app for Android, an AI-based scanner that also names and categorises the documents it scans. The Technology The Stack app is a result of collaborative work between Area 120, Google’s in-house incubator and the DocAI team in Google Cloud, and the technologies from Google’s acquisition of the education start up ‘Socratic’. How … Continue reading Android Stack Scanner Can Organise Your Documents →

If you are finding that your phone is getting slow at charging, here are some of the possible causes and solutions: – Incompatible or faulty accessories, such as power brick, USB cable, or charging pad/mat (for wireless charging). Choosing a charger or brick with higher amperage e.g., a power brick with 2 to 3 amps … Continue reading Tech Tip – How To Speed Up Your Phone Charging →