GEEX

Quite often potential new customers ask us what are the advantages of our offer compared to outright purchase. Our immediate response is to highlight the inclusive 3 year warranty and the cash flow benefits. For example, you can lease a new iMac, with 3 years hardware warranty plus telephone and remote support for just £10.30 + Vat per week. Compare this to having to take out over £1200 to buy the same product, and you can see that keeping the money in the business to spend on marketing and alike could make a real difference.

One of the key advantages that we often overlook when speaking to people, is that leasing is tax efficient. But what does that mean? Essentially, leasing is 100% tax-allowable. As the user you don’t actually own the equipment, the lease company does. This means that the lease payments to be written off the Profit & Loss account rather than the Balance Sheet, where a depreciating item is classed as a liability. Depending on the rate of tax you pay the saving of 20-40% of the cost of the lease repayments goes to you.

Each repayment is categorised as a lease rental and as such, is able to be written off as a business expense, thereby reducing the tax paid on your company’s profits. If you decide to buy your equipment outright, you are only allowed to write off a percentage of the total cost, meaning that you may pay more tax than if you had leased.

If you too would like to benefit from our 100% tax efficient equation call us 0121 285 0098 or email info@localhost with your requirement.

With over 170 million iPads sold since its launch in 2012, Apple’s iPad has changed the way we all do business.  There are now nearly half a million software Apps available for businesses.

So once you have established the need for the iPad in your business the big question is which one?

First of all there is size to consider. The new iPad Air is available in 16, 32, 64 or 128GB variations. We have found that whilst the iPads are bought for business reasons, a natural consequence of people using them is that they do get populated with personal photos, apps and alike. Therefore, the 32 and 64GB variations have proved to be the most popular and realistic.

The next big question is Wi-Fi or Cellular? The 32GB model the Wi-Fi version is just £4.95 + VAT per week and to add the cellular capability only adds an extra £1 + Vat per week.  So if cost is not a major consideration, then it really just comes down to your access to a Wi-Fi connection. If you are always on the move, or find yourself commuting by train, a strong case can be made for the cellular model. However, if you simply leave your Wi-Fi at home and drive to the office to connect to the network there you will probably be ok with just the Wi-Fi model.

Our iPad prices start at just £3.99 + VAT per week for the 16GB WI-Fi model and all models come with a 3 years parts and labour warranty and telephone and remote support. We also include a 3 years All Risks Insurance policy for complete piece of mind.

With discounts avaliable for multi purchase orders feel free to contact us at info@localhost or call 0121 772 592.

With HP last week announcing in the US that it will now be providing its new PCs with Windows 7 and rumours that Microsoft employees refer to Windows 8 as the new Vista is the writing on the wall for Windows 8?

It’s no secret that consumers have been slow to adopt Windows 8, as well as Windows 8.1. Windows 7 remains dominant and even though it is 12 years old, Windows XP is much more popular than anything released since Windows 7.

While Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 combined to reach double digits in marketshare, Windows 8.1′s, which was released last October, currently stands at just 3.60. Considering that this is a completely free download for Windows 8 users this has to be considered low.  Further salt is rubbed into the wound when you consider that Windows 8.1 market share is still less popular that Windows Vista, despite the fact that Vista was despised by consumers as is 8 years old.

Many commentators feel that Microsoft has tried to be too clever and make an Operating System that works on both tablet and desktop PC. Windows 9 is rumoured for release next April and it is thought that this may herald a move away from a hybrid operating system to one whereby consumers will have two distinct interfaces for desktop and tablet use.

At GEEX most of our desktop PCs come with the option of either Windows 8 or Windows 7 Professional. So if you are a massive fan of Windows 8 or just love Windows 7 we have something for you. Feel free to contact us at info@localhost or call us on 0121 285 0098.

Just over 30 years ago, on the 22^nd January 1984, Apple introduced the Mackintosh. It featured a 9 inch screen, a 3.5” Floppy Disk Drive and 128kb RAM!

The Mackintosh was launched at a time when IBM ruled the world of computing.  To put it into context the new iMac has a 1TB Hard Drive , the latest iPad Air has a 9.7” retina display and the new Mac Pro comes with 12GB RAM, that’s over 90,000 times as much memory as the first Mackintosh!

The greatest achievement of the Mackintosh was that it replaced the need to type in commands with point-and-click menus, introduced drag and drop, and launched the type of graphical user interface seen across PCs, phones, and tablets around the world today.

The video below provides a brilliant insight into how Apple has evolved over the past 30 years. If it inspires you, to get your hands on the latest Apple products, then check out our incredible lease prices here or call 0121 285 0098.

If you’re a Windows XP user, the 8^th April 2014 will be a daunting date.  This is the date when Microsoft will no longer provide technical assistance for Windows XP, including automatic updates that help to protect your PC. Microsoft will also stop providing Microsoft Security Essentials for download on Windows XP on April 8th.

That means that if you are running Windows XP, and 30% of the world’s computers do, you are at risk from a security breach. So what are your options?

Firstly, you could of course keep running with XP and there are some signs that Microsoft will continue to push the Malicious Software Removal Tool to XP machines until July 2015, providing some level of protection to its users.

Secondly, you can upgrade to the latest operating system Windows 8.1. However, there is no inexpensive way to do this and Windows 8 is potentially becoming the new Vista.

The third option, is that you could lease a brand new HP ProDesk 400 Desktop PC from GEEX, that’s runs Windows 7, from as little as £5.50 + Vat per week.  This new desktop machine from HP offers the latest Intel processors and integrated graphics. Along with 8GB RAM and a 500GB Hard Drive it is the perfect office workhorse.

So if your company is still running Windows XP and you need to upgrade your computer equipment feel free to contact us at info@localhost or call us on 0121 285 0098.

It’s been a little over a year since we introduced our Apple Mac part exchange programme. The scheme works exactly like part exchanging your old car at your local showroom. We will give you a price for the old machine and this directly reduces your repayments on the new one.

This month sees the Apple’s New Mac Pro arrive. This new model is proving extremely popular and we have a number of clients who have already placed orders with us.  The off the shelf packages that we offer are:

• Quad Core 3.7GHz, Free upgrade to 16GB RAM, Dual AMD D300 2GB Graphics, 256GB Flash Storage, Apple Wired Keyboard, Magic Mouse, OS X Mavericks – £21.80 + VAT per week on a 3 year flexible lease.
• Six Core 3.5GHz, 16GB RAM, Dual AMD D500 3GB Graphics, 256GB Flash Storage ,Apple Wired keyboard, Magic Mouse  OS X Mavericks – £28.60 + VAT per week on  3 year flexible lease.

Whilst our equation makes this new model more affordable than ever, we wanted to extend our part exchange programme to include previous generations of the Mac Pro.

For example, a Quad Core, 3.0GHz, original Mac Pro from August 2006, can be traded in and take off £1.95 of the weekly lease cost of the brand new Apple Mac Pro. If you have a newer model, for example, Six Core 3.33Ghz from July 2010 then you can send it back to us, take a new lease on the new 2013 Apple Mac Pro and reduce the weekly lease cost by £4.50 per week. In total that is £702 plus VAT (£842.40 inc VAT).

We appreciate that your old Mac may be a few years old and that it may have general wear and tear. However, as long as it is in working condition, we can accept it no problem at all

So, if you have an old Apple Mac, sitting in the corner, collecting dust, please contact us on 0121 285 0098 or email birmingham@GEEX.co.uk and let us make that new Mac more affordable than ever.

Earlier this month Apple released the environmental report for the new Mac Pro and it shows some impressive efficiency gains. At idle the new machine uses 68% less power than the previous model, using just 43w at 100v compared to 133.7w.

The real savings also appear when looking at the materials that are used. The new version uses 74% less aluminium and consumes 82% less volume and weighs 84% less than its predecessor meaning that 3 times more units can be fitted onto an airline shipping container.

As with all of Apple’s current Macs the new Mac Pro earns a gold rating from EPEAT for its environmental performance. So if you do lease a new Mac Pro not only will you get amazing performance but you will be able to tell your colleagues just how sustainable you are to.

For any enquiries on the new Mac Pro please call 0121 285 0098 or email info@localhost.

For the first time Apple has become the most wanted desktop computer this Christmas according to Parks Associates. Traditionally, the likes of Dell, HP and Acer have performed stronger during the holiday season, with Apple ranking 3^rd in 2011 and 2^nd in 2012.

Apple quietly refreshed the iMac this autumn following its major design revision last year. It comes as no surprise that this popular machine is appealing to consumers when increasing numbers of people are using them in the workplace.

Once the staple diet of creatives, we are now taking order from accountants, estate agents and manufacturing businesses who all want to use Apple’s amazing iMac.

With prices starting from just £9.80 + VAT per week for a 21.5” iMac this has never been more affordable. Included in the price is a full 3 years parts and labour hardware warranty with telephone and remote support. In addition, many of iMacs come with a next day loan Mac should we ever have to take yours away for repair plus 250GB of Cloud Backup for free.

If you are interested in the latest iMac call 0121 285 0098 or email info@localhost

When a team of security researchers recently discovered a massive cache of two million login credentials for popular sites like Facebook, Twitter and remarkably a large number of the passwords were overwhelmingly easy to work out. For example, “123456″.

We cannot emphasis enough the importance of having a password that is harder to detect. Hackers will undoubtedly be reading the security research reports and the last thing they need is passwords that are so easy to work out.

For the record, these are the top ten most popular passwords in the newly discovered database. If you have one of these we would recommend that you change it immediately.

In only a couple of years’ time your Amazon Christmas shopping could arrive 30 minutes after purchase. Imagine that?!

Jeff Bezos showed off prototype drone devices that could deliver small packages from Amazon warehouses directly to customers’ homes. The drones would be able to carry packages that weigh up to 5lbs (3.2kg), which accounts for 86% of the parcels the company currently delivers.

Of course, there are all manner of regulatory and operational difficulties to overcome first, not least the approval of the relevant aviation authorities, which would have to approve the use of the drones, although both US and European authorities have signalled their willingness to consider the use of civilian drones in their airspace.

“We hope the FAA’s [the US Federal Aviation Authority’s] rules will be in place as early as sometime in 2015,” the company says on its website. “We will be ready at that time.”

There is also an issue of where the drones will drop off parcels. This will be fine for those with big gardens, but for those that live in confined spaces and in flats, it may be a problem.

Another problem could be drones clogging up the skies. This really won’t leave any room for Santa.

“Safety will be our top priority, and our vehicles will be built with multiple redundancies and designed to commercial aviation standards,” Amazon adds.

It looks like the next major push for both Microsoft and Apple will be motion sensing hardware. Most people were introduced to this type of hardware when Microsoft released their Xbox Kinetic a few years ago. We ran an article earlier this year about Leap Motion’s gesture controller but now it seems as if this tech will be the new battle ground.

At a recent conference, Microsoft’s head of devices, Julie Larson-Green, stated that “hardware innovation” would be the key for Microsoft, hinting at future developments with Kinect’s voice-recognition system. “There will be another inflection point and it’s going to come from the hardware input model,” she said. “So that’s why you’ve seen us doing things with Kinect, with gesture. You see us doing things with voice. There’s one coming. And all the things have to come together.”

Just as Microsoft were stating that this was their strategy to differentiate themselves from thie competition Apple bought PrimeSense, the motion sensor firm behind the first Kinect camera, in a deal reportedly worth $350 million.

Whilst it is thought that Apple is more focused on the company’s motion sensor technology for its rumoured TV set it is thought it could be looking at embeding the smaller sensors into future iPad or iPhone models.

However, any application will likely take some time to materialise. Apple’s acquisition of fingerprint sensor company AuthenTec in 2012, took more than a year to bear fruit in the form of the iPhone 5s.

Regardless, of which way the companies go it looks as if gesture control is going to be a major emphasis for both companies over the coming years.

Which MacBook should I lease?

With three different models of MacBook, with 10 different standard variants available, it can often be hard to decide which MacBook to lease.

Here we look here at the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro and MacBook Pro with Retina Display and try to help you determine which is best for you.

Which MacBook should I lease for portability?

At just 11in MacBook Air is the lightest and thinnest MacBook available. With a height of 1.7cm and a weight of 1.08 kg it makes it ideal for business trips. At just £7.45 + Vat per week it won’t break the bank either. 

The downside of this portability is that the actual screen size is just 11.6 inches, which is only 1.9 inches bigger (diagonally) than the iPad Air. So it may be worth considering the 13” Air and starting at £8.45 + Vat you will be rewarded with a bigger screen, plus the highest battery life of any MacBook available. It lasts up to 12 hours and a massive 30 days standby time.

If you decide that a 13in MacBook is definitely the size for you, then there’s actually little difference in weight and thickness between the Air and the Pro. The 13in MacBook Air is 1.7cm thick and weighs 1.35kg, while the 13in Retina MacBook Pro is just slightly heavier, at 1.57 kg, and a tiny bit thicker at 1.8cm.

Which MacBook should I lease for running applications like Adobe CC?

If you want to use your MacBook for more powerful tasks like running Adobe CC, then undoubtedly you will benefit from a bigger display.  Apple now has two 15in MacBook Pro with Retina display models available.

The first comes with an i7 2.0GHz quad-core, 8GB RAM and 256GB flash storage and starts at £14.80 + VAT per week. Priced at £18.95 + Vat per week, the higher spec model comes with a 2.3GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor, 16GB RAM and 512GB of flash storage. The entry level 15” comes with Intel iris Pro graphics whilst the second model has NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M with 2GB memory and automatic GPU switching.

Options exist to boost the processor and storage with upto 1TB of flash storage available from as little as £3.60 + Vat per week.

Which MacBook should I buy if I’m on a budget?

If money is the deciding factor when it comes to buying a MacBook, then the cheapest model available is the 128GB 11in MacBook Air, which costs £7.45 + VAT per week. For just £1 + Vat per week extra you can get the 13in MacBook Air, or add another £0.50 + VAT per week and you can get the 13” MacBook Pro. This is the only MacBook that still has an optical drive. However, it is worth noting that this model missed out on being upgraded this year where as all the other MacBooks have received significant improvements.

If you need a new MacBook and you cannot decide which one is best for you please call us on 0121 285 0098 or email info@localhost

CryptoLocker Virus is a significant risk to the UK’s small businesses according to the National Crime Agency.  Last week alone 12000 businesses were infected by this particular virus which indicates a worrying move by fraudsters towards ransom ware.

So what is CryptoLocker? CryptoLocker is a Trojan horse form of mailware and is typically distributed via emails which carry an attachment that appears to be correspondence linked to the email message, for example, a voicemail, fax, details of a suspicious transaction or invoices for payment.

Once the user has clicked on the attachment the process of infection starts but you are only alerted when it is too late. Cryptolocker works by encrypting the user’s files on the infected machine and the local network it is attached to. “Once encrypted, the computer will display a splash screen with a countdown timer and a demand for the payment of 2 Bitcoins in ransom for the decryption key.”

Once you have paid the fee you will be sent a private key that allows you to decrypt your files. Obviously the NCA do not recommend paying the ransom and state that there is no guarantee that once you have paid you will be okay.

So what can you do? Hopefully, your business takes regular backups and you could restore your system through them. We have clients who have been targeted by this virus and using their backups we have had them up and working within a matter of hours. Also, having up-to-date anti-virus is also essential. Most of the major providers are coming up with solutions and updates that will stop this virus appearing in your inbox.

We can’t emphasise enough the need for businesses to have a regular backup and antivirus plan in place. The CryptoLocker example shows just how sophisticated and ruthless the fraudsters are becoming. If you have concerns about your security measures please feel free to call us on 0121 285 0098 or email info@localhost

Over here at GEEX we are huge fans of Apple’s iMac and whilst companies such as HP, Sony and Lenovo are making great strides in the All in One market nothing has quite captured us as much as the iMac. However, ASUS is due to launch an exciting new product later this month.

The ET2321 (ok the name needs some work!) may just be the best looking All in One PC. Featuring a 23-inch 1920 x 1080 LED IPS display, with a 178-degree viewing angle and optional 10-point multi-touch this machine certainly looks the part. Beneath the metallic stand lies a fourth generation Intel Haswell processor and Iris graphics that provide all-round performance. It also gets SonicMaster audio technology with built-in speakers. 

For those needing a little bit more in the graphics department it can be fitted with a dedicated Nvidia GeForce GT 740M GPU and can be specified with up to 16GB RAM. Storage options include a 2TB HDD, 128GB SSD, or a hybrid 1TB HDD and 128GB SSD configuration. As you would expect the machine has great connectivity with three USB 3.0 ports, three USB 2.0 ports, HDMI-in, HDMI-out, 802.11n or 802.11ac WIFI and Bluetooth 4.0.

The ET2321 will be available in the UK later on this month but as of yet there is no word on pricing. If you want to take a closer look at this exciting new machine check out the video below or call us on 0121 285 0098 or email info@localhost

The new Mac Pro proves that Apple is serious about taking manufacturing to the States. The next step, is chips. In a new report it states Apple is bringing chip fabrication of it’s a-series chips stateside at a new $6 billion facility in upstate New York, with Samsung to be involved.

Apple is looking to build a fabrication in upstate New York in a deal between Cupertino and California-based Global Foundries. This new location is set to be in Malta, New York. Ideally Apple wants to wean themselves off of dependency on Samsung, when it comes to building their A-series processors. Ironically Samsung is believed to be involved in the Apple-global foundries deal, helping the two ramp-up production. This makes sense as Samsung knows quite a bit about ARM chip fabrication.

Nevertheless we bring all Apple products to you right here in Birmingham. For more information take a look at our Apple products here or give us a call on 0121 285 0098

William C Lowe, the man who oversaw IBM’s first personal computer, died last week aged 72. A true driving force behind IBM’s Personal Computer, which was known as the 5150, Lowe ensured its successful launch in August 1981.

Apple had launched their first computer a few years before but the 5150 saw IBM leave its traditional mainframe routes and dip into the PC market for the first time.

The IBM machine used an operating system called MS-DOS 1.0 that was provided by a little-known technology company called Microsoft. Its microprocessor came from Intel.

At the time the machine cost $1,565 – about $4,000 in today’s money and it didn’t even come with a monitor. Amazingly it sold 250,000 units in its first year and three years later Lowe came up with the brain child of getting IBM selling its own brand computers targeted at small businesses and consumers.

A key success of the IBM PC project was the collaboration with Microsoft and in 1985 the two companies agreed to develop software together that could also run on other machines.

This approach ultimately allowed other manufactures to build IBM compatible machines more cheaply but undoubtedly it was the catalyst to creating the PC market that we know today.

Mr Lowe died on 19 October 2013 from a heart attack.

Last week Microsoft made Windows 8.1 available for download in the UK. Windows 8.1 has progressively shown that the early mistakes on Windows 8 have been ironed out.

So why is now the right time to make the upgrade to Windows 8.1? Well it includes a number of new features and interface changes. The return of the desktop Start button will be welcomed by many, as will the revamped search facility and completely redesigned Windows Store.

Microsoft has also upgraded a number of the core apps that come with the operating system. The ‘Mail’ app adopts its interface whilst there is an entirely new interface for the Music app. In fact the development of Microsoft’s own Apps and those of 3^rd Party developers is showing a significant improvement. The fact that Facebook launched its first Windows Store app alongside Windows 8.1 is testimony to the advancement in this area.

The good news for existing users of Windows 8 is that they will be offered Windows 8.1 as a free upgrade via the Windows Store. It will install in place over the existing operating systems and leave all Windows Store and desktop apps intact. However, those who tried out the Windows 8.1 preview will have to reinstall all their Windows Store and desktop apps after upgrading to the final version of the Operating System.

Evidence is growing that an iPad version of Microsoft Office will be available, but Microsoft is determined to save that touch-friendly experience for its own Windows devices.

Speaking prior to leaving Microsoft, former CEO, Steve Ballmer confirmed the existence of Office for iPad but immediately stressed that the company has no intention of allowing it to land on a competing platform first.

“iPad will be picked up when there’s a touch-first user interface,” Ballmer remarked, suggesting that Office for Windows will be where the new version will make its premiere.

According to Microsoft insiders, that sentiment appears to have been echoed by Chief Operating Officer B. Kevin Turner, who recently proclaimed the company’s intention to “own the productivity experience across all devices.”

That means that despite the huge demand for Office for iPad is still not being met and that the only way Apple users can access Office is via an iPhone-only app that requires and annual subscription to use.

For now, “touch-first” appears to also mean “Windows first,” but Microsoft isn’t giving any indication of how soon that initiative might land in the waiting hands (and fingers) of users.

Have a look at our iPad leasing here…