Month: March 2014

With Easter fast approaching we wanted to bring the holiday spirit forward. So we are offering customers the opportunity to defer their first lease payment, on any new deal, until 1st July 2014.

So how does it work? You simply choose the computers that you wish to lease and we will deliver them as soon as possible. However, instead of making an immediate payment you don’t start paying until July 2014. The only requirement is that you make quarterly repayments throughout the lease rather than our traditional monthly repayment. This means just 4 payments per year, in return for having a 3 month window before you have to start paying.

Even if you defer your payments you can still take full advantage of our flexi-lease benefits. After two years, or 8 quarterly payments, you will be given the option to renew the lease. We will offer you brand new equipment (does not have to be like-for-like) and give you the option to RETURN or RETAIN your existing equipment.

All lease agreements are subject to a simple credit check. To undertake the Lease now, pay April offer your business must have been trading for a minimum of 2 years and all offers are subject to status.

In a recent interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Microsoft founder Bill Gates has hinted that the company needs to take greater risks with its long-standing products. Windows and Office are two products that Microsoft created at the height of their powers and have been repeatedly tweaked and tuned up ever since.

Gates commented that “now, they need more than a tune-up. But that’s pretty exciting for the people inside who say. ‘We need to take a little more risk and do some new stuff’.” Whilst we could speculate what new stuff could be undoubtedly a touch-orientated version of Office for iOS would be a welcome and overdue addition to Microsoft’s range.

In the same interview Gates also hinted that Microsoft may no longer command the position of authority that it once had. Referring to the nineties when the organisation had so much money that they could pursue whatever ideas they wanted, he admitted that Google now held that position. He also admitted that Microsoft would have purchased WhatsApp but not for the $19 billion price that Facebook paid.

For businesses that use Macs, having Microsoft Office for Mac has become an essential must have. However, the current offering was last updated over 3 years ago in October 2010.

Therefore, it will be a welcome relief to many that Microsoft is planning to introduce an updated version for the Mac in 2014.

Whilst there are no exact details on when the new software will be released it is believed that we will see the new product before the year is out. It is believed that Microsoft are also hard at work of Office suites, not only for Mac OS X, but also a touch version for the iPad and even a version for Android.

Office for Mac is one of the most popular additions to our hardware leases. We are also able to lease software from Quark, Autodesk and Adobe. So if you need software to accompany your new Mac please just let us know on 0121 285 0098 or email info@localhost

Fortune Magazine has recently announced its list of the “World’s Most Admired Companies” and Apple has again claimed the title for the seventh year in a row. It closest competitor Amazon was second, whilst Google, Berkshire Hathaway, and Starbucks rounded out the top 5.

The ranking was based on a survey taken by corporate peers including executives, directors, and industry analysts who graded each company based on key attributes such as innovation, people management, social responsibility and more. Apple earned an overall score of 7.94, beating out Amazon which scored a 7.09.

Ranking number one in seven of the nine categories, Apple demonstrated its popularity and reputation across a variety of sectors.  It ranked number five in social responsibility and number two in global competitiveness, following rival Google in the latter category.

To view Apple products you can lease for your business visit HardosftBirmingham.co.uk or give us a call on 0121 285 0098

We have commented a lot recently on how Windows 8 has been received and the fact that HP recently said its business machines would be made available with Windows 7 Professional on them.

Last month Microsoft announced that Windows 7 will remain on sale to business users until at least early 2015. Originally, Microsoft had announced that new PCs preinstalled with Windows 7 would not be available after 31^st October 2014. However, that has now changed and in fact the Microsoft website states, that a date is not yet established for when Windows 7 Professional will no longer be installed.

If you require new PCs or laptops feel free to call us today to discuss our flexi-lease on 0121 285 0098 or email info@localhost

We really are huge fans of HP Z Series. The Z range is HP’s top end PC workstations that have amazing graphics performance. Whether you need a desktop solution or you are a designer on the move, the HP Z series has a product for you.

If you run Adobe CC, Vectorworks or Autodesk then you may already be familiar with the Z Workstations. Starting at just £8.90 + VAT per week the entry level HP Z220 is the most affordable of the range. Don’t be fooled however as it still packs a lot of punch with a Quad Core Xeon E3, 16GB RAM, 1TB Hard Drive and 400W Power Supply.

If your budget and demands are a bit bigger, then the HP Z620 offers a lot more power and specification.  It provides 16 cores, a maximum of 96GB RAM and 11TB of internal storage. Starting from £16.90 + VAT per week you can add the NVIDIA Quadro 4000 2GB or the K5000 4GB card for an extra cost.

If you are looking for a machine to rival Apple’s new Mac Pro then the top of the range HP Z820 is your one. Out of the box it comes with a Xeon E5 CPU, 16GB RAM and a 1TB Hard Drive and will cost £24.90 + Vat per week. However, it can be configured to have 512GB RAM and 14TB of storage.

For those that require a more mobile solution the HP Z Book series are really eye catching. The ZBook 15 and 17 are something really special. The can be configured to have 1.8TB and 2.8 TB respectively and provide 14 hours of battery life in the 15” version. Include top of the range Intel Haswell processors, up to a massive 32GB RAM, numerous NVIDIA Quadro graphics options up to 8GB and these machines really do take it to the opposition.

The ZBook 15 and ZBook 17 are available to lease now at £18.80 and £22.60 + VAT per week. Both feature i7-4700MQ processors, 16GB RAM, 750GB Hybrid storage and Nvidia Quadro graphics.

If you need a series graphics workstation for the office or the road call us now on 0121 285 0098 or email info@localhost

For a while now we have heard that the end is nigh for the humble desktop. The belief that tablets, such as the iPad would take over have been around ever since Apple started selling more iPads than Macs in 2011. At first glance headlines about Sony’s withdrawal from the PC market and HP not performing as well all lend credibility to the argument.

However, as I write this I am on a PC, in an office of PCs and Macs. Yes, iPads are around and we all have smart phones, but when it comes to doing work it is my PC that I turn to.  Our office is not alone. When we visit clients we are always met by groups of people working hard at a desktop. We have yet to walk into an office where everybody is on a tablet. At the moment it just isn’t happening.

There is no doubting that tablets are an important part of the mix. Even now, when we are on the 5^th generation iPad, we still utilise them for any exhibitions we attend. They still have a wow factor about them. However, our two best selling machines are the HP ProDesk 400 and the 27” iMac. Both are desktop solutions and both are used as workhorses by the organisations that lease them.

So how do we account for the dip in PC sales? Is it that we are just finding room for a tablet solution? When tablets first hit the scene they were a brand new product, an innovation. People wanted to purchase them as they filled a void and were attractive products. However, it you look at the more established mobile phone market you will see that people buying a smartphone not to replace a PC or tablet but to simply replace a phone. So in years to come will people buy more tablets simply to replace their existing ones?

So as the market stabilises, having accommodated the tablet form, could it be that we have just witnessed a simple readdressing and are left with a market place whereby PC, tablets and Macs, all sit with one another. None of them are here to replace the other, simply to co-exist besides one another.

Until the tablet is able to make our everyday business tasks as easy to complete as there are on a PC or Mac, then we believe they are destined to be an important part of the mix but they will not replace them.  However, they will not replace the humble PC

It might surprise you to learn that one in five Macs still runs on OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, which is now over four years old. You may think that with Apple providing its latest OS X Mavericks for free, via the App Store, that this figure would be minimal. However, Snow Leopard was the last version of OS X that could run on Apple’s PowerPc processor.

If your business is still running Snow Leopard it is worth knowing that it has been left out of Apple’s last two security patches. Only last week a patch was issued for Mavericks, plus the previous two versions, Mountain Lion and Lion. However, Snow Leopard was ignored.  A similar situation arose in December last year when Apple updated Safari.

In fact the last time that Snow Leopard was patched was as long ago as September 2013. Now in fairness to Apple, they have supported Snow Leopard for longer than the traditional lifespan of an OS X release. Normally, support ends when the release becomes two versions behind the current OS.

Therefore, if you are still running Snow Leopard it is now time to upgrade your OS X to Mavericks and ensure the security of your system. Obviously, if your business is still running on a PowerPc, talk to us about our how flexi-lease can make bringing the latest Apple equipment into your business affordable. Call us on 0121 285 0098 or email info@localhost

Regardless of whether you are a sole trader or major agency, if you operate a busy business the reality of failed Mac can cause huge disruption.  There is the downtime for the individual without a machine, the inconvenience of having to book a Genius Bar appointment 3-6 days from now, waiting 10 days for a repair and then finally going to collect the repaired Mac. In total that could be 16 days without a working machine

With GEEX, we feel our warranty coverage is far better tuned to helping keep your business working even when your Mac doesn’t.

All of our Apple products come with a 3 year collect and return warranty. Telephone and remote support is also included Monday-Friday 9-5.30pm.  If we ever need to take your Mac away for repair we will come and collect it and bring it back to you, allowing you to concentrate on your business.

However, we have gone a step further. Our bronze warranty, which is standard on many of our high end Macs, comes with a next day loan machine as standard. Should we ever have to take yours away for repair, we will supply you a loan Mac the very next day, allowing you to continue working uninterrupted until we can return your original machine fully repaired.

If your Mac does not include the Bronze warranty as standard it is easy to upgrade for just £0.80 + VAT per week. If you feel like you need even more cover our Silver warranty includes the Bronze cover plus insurance against Loss, Theft and Accidental Damage. There is no excess to pay and policies are backed by leading underwriters. For example for an extra £1.60 + VAT per week you can upgrade the warranty on 21.5” to Silver for complete piece of mind.

If that isn’t enough, we also offer our Gold warranty. This provides all the benefits of our Silver package but for five years instead of the usual three.

Regardless of which option is best for your business, a GEEX warranty allows you to concentrate on running your business instead of solving your IT issues.  Call us today on 0121 285 0098 or email info@localhost to see how we can help your business.

One of the fascinating aspects of being fans and users of Apple products is trying to understand what future products the company has lined up. Whilst we have seen the Mac Pro hit our shores in recent months, the rest of the Mac line up is showing signs of age.

So what drives the upgrade path and what can we expect throughout 2014? A significant factor in Apple launching new Mac products is the availability of new processors from Intel.

If we start with the Mac Mini, a model that has not been upgraded since late 2012, the picture is somewhat unclear. Historically, the processors that go into the 13” MacBook Pros follow into the mini within a couple of months but this has not happened. Whilst rumours exist on the internet that a new Mac mini is imminent, there is nothing from a reliable source. Therefore, the future for this little powerhouse is very much unknown.

Moving onto the MacBook Air, this model uses the latest Haswell processors but at lower end of the scale. It is believed that Intel will launch a Haswell refresh in late 2014, which would be an obvious refresh point for the Air. Although, it is worth mentioning that the high end i7 processor upgrade path is not so clear at the moment.

However, the biggest rumour about the Air could be regarding a 12” Retina MacBook that could replace the existing MacBook Air line up.

For the MacBook Pro with Retina Display range, the general consensus seems to be that they too may get the upgraded Haswell chips towards the end of this year. Most commentators believe that Intel’s next generation chips, Broadwell, are lined up for the range but these have recently been delayed until 2015, meaning that the Haswell refresh will be important.

Our most popular model the iMac, is almost certainly going to get a Haswell refresh, with the current processors being replaced by a direct upgrade. One exception is on the low-end 21.5-inch iMac. This uses a special i5 processor, enhanced with Intel’s top-of-the-line Iris 5200 integrated graphics, to allow that machine to forego a discrete graphics chip. At present there has been no confirmation of plans for Intel to launch a corresponding i5-4590R chip as part of the Haswell refresh.

As for the Mac Pro the main issue is not about upgrading but getting a smooth flow of this popular new machine. New orders are currently shipping in April and many customers are keen to get their hands on Apple’s most powerful desktop ever.

So with Apple’s upgrade path directly linked to Intel’s it would appear that 2014 may be a relatively quiet year. On the other hand with Apple, constantly telling us that they are excited about the new and innovative products that they are working on perhaps they may just surprise us once again.

If you would like to discuss any of the current or future Mac line up feel free to call us on 0121 285 0098 or email info@localhost