Download
QuickSupport

Epson ReadyInk

Author: Natalie Finlayson

What is a graphics card?

Published: 20 August 2021
Written by Natalie Finlayson
No comments
Categories: Desktop PCs, Hardware, IT Terminology, Laptops

This week we look at another piece of hardware which sometimes is part of the build on your PC or laptop.  The graphics card is the piece of hardware responsible for producing the image which is displayed on your monitor or screen.  It translates the data into a form which your monitor can understand to display the correct image for you.  The better the graphics card the higher quality the image produced.

There are two types of graphics card: integrated and discrete.  Integrated graphics cards are built into your motherboard and this is found on most standard PC and laptop specs.  As it’s inbuilt they cannot be easily upgraded.  Discrete graphics cards are pieces of hardware which can be installed at a later date as an extra component.  This makes them ideal for upgrading at a later date.  The average user who browses the internet and carries out office work, the onboard graphics will be sufficient.  If you intend to carry out gaming or video editing, a discrete graphics card is recommended.

When reading about graphics cards previously you may have heard of GPU, this stands for Graphics Processing Unit.  Much like the CPU, this is the brain of the graphics card.  It acts as the translator turning the signals into a recognisable format for your monitor.  Sometimes a graphics card is needed to allow your PC to display dual screens through the outputs offered on a graphics card.

Modern graphics cards also have their own dedicated RAM onboard, which is the same as the RAM in your PC, however, is just for the use of the graphics card to process the data it is being given to send to the display. If you have any questions or are interested in installing a graphics card to your device please don’t hesitate to get in touch with the team here at MJD.

How much RAM do I need?

Published: 13 August 2021
Written by Natalie Finlayson
No comments
Categories: Uncategorized

Let’s breakdown what RAM does and how you can decide how much RAM you need in your device.  RAM stands for Random Access Memory and is a component which is installed in your device and used for short term data storage.  Your programmes and data are stored on your hard drive or SSD, depending on which your device has.  Your processor will move this data from your drive to the RAM for short term access while you are working in the programme or on the file.  This means the amount of RAM you have can directly affect how quickly this process can be completed on your device.

Currently, we recommend a minimum of 8GB of RAM for any PC or laptop that we offer.  This would be sufficient for day to day office work or home use.  However, if you use design programmes or need to run multiple programmes all at one time we would recommend a minimum of 16GB of RAM.

When looking at the minimum spec for software that you work with, remember this is the bare minimum for the programme to run.  So the minimum spec won’t guarantee you will run the programme quickly, this is why it is important to look at the recommended spec if they offer this information or to choose a spec slightly higher than the minimum required.  This means your device won’t be using all its available RAM to run just that programme, it would have some capacity to spare which will also be beneficial for your device in the long run.

If you are unsure of whether you have sufficient RAM for your requirements, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with the team here at MJD who will be more than happy to advise.

Essential IT equipment and software to make your WFH setup permanent

Published: 6 August 2021
Written by Natalie Finlayson
No comments
Categories: COVID-19, Cyber Security, Hardware, Laptops, Microsoft Office, Productivity

As restrictions are easing and we are moving into a new phase of living with the COVID-19 pandemic, we are seeing a trend develop for a hybrid working pattern and home working is here to stay.  That’s why this week we wanted to highlight the essential pieces of equipment that we would recommend to make your work from home setup more efficient and make your IT work for YOU.

  1. Docking Station

The most useful piece of kit you could have in your work from home and your office setup is a universal docking station.  We recommend and use the Terra 731 Docking Station, which means that all you have to do is connect a USB cable to your laptop and you can be connected to your monitors, speakers, internet, keyboard and mouse as quickly as you can connect the cable!  This can make the transition between office to your home desk feel effortless and you won’t even think about it.  This means you and your employees can concentrate on getting down to work and not having to setup your desk and work station each time you move between the two setups.

  1. Height adjustable monitors/Monitor Stands

                           

It is important to make sure that you now consider your work from home setup as a permenant fixture and therefore, are your monitors at the correct height for ensuring you have good posture?  If you have two monitors are they both at the same height?  If not, it would be worth considering new height adjustable, or if these monitors are still in good working order a monitor stand which would allow you to properly adjust the height of the monitor screen.  Terra have a range of monitors so please get in touch with your specific requirements for a bespoke recommendation.

  1. Microsoft 365

By using Microsoft 365 for your whole business setup or as a hybrid solution, this can help you to move seamlessly from office to home by having access to your files in the 365 cloud.  This also gives you access to use Teams to help manage your business remotely and to collaborate and stay in touch even while you are all in different locations.  If you have any questions or want to maximise the use of your 365 licenses, just get in touch with the MJD team and we’d be more than happy to help.

  1. Laptop

     

A laptop goes without saying, due to its portability will allow you to take it between the office and your home office with ease and combined with a docking station at both desks will allow you to always have everything you need at all times.

  1. Headset

If you are not the only one in your house then to ensure privacy and that your clients and colleagues can hear you clearly in video calls a headset is a must and not an expensive part of your kit.

  1. Security Software

This is a rather vague heading, but by this we want to encompass not just anti-virus & anti-malware but also security monitoring services which constantly monitor for suspicious activity on your devices which could be a result of malware or a ransomware attack plus remote management software for mobile devices to allow you to wipe them and protect your data if they are lost.  This is the most important part of your hybrid setup and why we left it to last to ensure it’s the one that sticks with you.  Portable devices are more likely to get lost, be left behind and be outwith your nice secure office network and therefore need protection from the environments they find themselves in.  Get in touch with our Cyber Security Specialist here at MJD to discuss your security software requirements and how to best manage your portable devices.

 

Laptop versus PC – which one works for me?

Published: 30 July 2021
Written by Natalie Finlayson
No comments
Categories: Uncategorized

This is a common dilemma when trying to decide what to invest your IT budget in, laptop or desktop PC?  Today we are going to go through the considerations we advise our clients who are unsure to help them make the decision.  It is never the case that one is better than the other, there are just pros and cons to each option.  Lets breakdown how to weigh these up for your situation.

Lets go right back to the basics, a desktop PC is a stationary device which will stay on a desk and consist of a tower, monitor, keyboard and mouse as a minimum.  Whereas a laptop is a portable device that has these all built into one transportable chassis meaning you can use it anywhere while on the go.

The key consideration when deciding between a laptop and a desktop is, will I need to move my working location frequently?  In other words, are you likely to set yourself up at a desk and always use the device there or do you want to work at various different locations or setups?  If you are looking to setup a fixed working area and don’t require the flexibility to take your device with you wherever you go a PC is the one for you.

Desktops tend to be more customisable in terms of their spec and you can get more for your money, as the components don’t need to fit in such a small portable chassis.  Laptops of the same spec as a desktop PC will generally be a higher price, and this is why we recommend a desktop over a laptop if you do not need the portability.  The other advantage is that a desktop is easier to upgrade components in the future if you need additional spec, whereas this is much harder in a laptop and might mean you need to buy another machine if the spec can’t be upgraded to what is required.

This is where the argument comes in that if your budget will allow and you need portability but also want performance, having a desktop and a laptop working together will provide you with the best solution.  This way, the laptop won’t need to be such a high spec it just needs to be sufficient for the work you do on the go, and you can get a good spec desktop for the majority of your work.  And especially if you utilise cloud storage through Microsoft 365’s One Drive for example you can ensure that you have access to all your files on both machines and work seamlessly between them.

If you are looking for a new desktop or laptop and unsure what would suit your needs best please don’t hesitate to get in touch with the Team here at MJD.  Lets make IT work for YOU.

The silent threat in your Inbox

Published: 16 July 2021
Written by Natalie Finlayson
No comments
Categories: Cyber Security

Gone are the days of being able to easily identify a phishing or scam email, as these are usually caught by our spam filters or move straight into our junk folders.  More and more we need to be vigilant against every email we receive into our inbox as we see increasing threats from hackers.  Today’s blog we want to encourage you to form the habit of answering the following 3 questions for every email you receive.

  1. Was I expecting an email from this individual?

Is this an email on a subject that you have been dealing with this individual previously or an ongoing piece of work you are collaborating on?  If the answer is yes, you are not completely safe yet.  Hackers can be very patient people and will sit and monitor an inbox and will try and learn the type of emails this person may send or that you may receive.  They can even spoof or gain access to this individuals mailbox to make the email look even more genuine.  If the answer is no, pick up the phone and give the individual a call.  It will take you only a few minutes to double check with the individual, but think of the hours of downtime you might save if you have avoided allowing a cyber attack to infiltrate your organisation.

  1. Do I usually receive emails with attachments from this individual?

Is this something which you usually receive attached to an email?  If the answer is yes, has it come at the usual time and day?  Is the file format what you are expecting?  If not, the same solution applies to give the individual a call to check if they meant to send this to you.

  1. Do I usually receive attachments like this?

What we mean by this is, if it’s an invoice do you usually work with invoices and receive them?  Or a quotation or purchase order?  Is it a document you usually receive and work with, if not then question why it’s been sent to you and give the individual in question a call.

As you can see, the same check is relevant to all three questions, just to pick up the phone and give the individual a call to double check this was meant to be sent to you.  At the end of the day, the worst that can happen is you have a chat with them and maybe even discuss what they’ve sent you or what you’re working on, and in the best case scenario, one phone call saves the whole organisation from the threat of a cyber attack.

If you have any questions about phishing or spam emails, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with the team here at MJD.  No question is a stupid question when it comes to protecting your company from a cyber attack.

VGA, HDMI, DVI – what is the difference?

Published: 2 July 2021
Written by Natalie Finlayson
No comments
Categories: Hardware, IT Terminology

Over the past year we’ve probably all had to deal with one of these three connections to get a monitor setup in our home office but ever wondered what the difference is between each one?  Lets dive right in and explain.

Let’s start with the abbreviations:

VGA = Video Graphics Array

DVI = Digital Visual Interface

HDMI = High Definition Multimedia Interface

VGA is the oldest connection out of these three, it was first developed by IBM in 1987 and it allows for the display of 356 colours on monitors. DVI was designed by Digital Display Working Group in 1999 with the aim of replacing VGA to allow monitors to display a true-colour palette.  HDMI first began development in 2002 by few different companies and made the previous two connections obsolete.  It allows for the transmission of high-definition audio/video, along with 8-channel audio transmission.

VGA being the oldest technology is slowly being phased out of new devices and when converting VGA to newer technology through adapters it can result in lower quality video as the signal goes from analogue to digital.  VGA also can only provide a maximum of 640 x 480 resolution whereas DVI can go up to 1920 x 1200 for single link and 2560 x 1600 for dual-link connections.  However, HDMI is now the most preferred connection as it can transmit both sound and video and can support 4k.

If you have any questions on your connections to your monitors in your work place or home office setup please don’t hesitate to get in touch with the team here at MJD.

Work From Home Diaries – Flora, Skye and Shadow

Published: 18 June 2021
Written by Natalie Finlayson
No comments
Categories: The Team @ MJD

Well hoomans, Flora here, since our last update the dastardly duo has become the three amigos!  Myself and Skye have welcomed Shadow into our canine team here at MJD.  Shadow has joined us in the roll of Petwork Security Analyst.  Please join us in a warm cyber welcome to Shadow!

 

The role of Petwork Security Analyst is an important role, Shadow helps his hooman secure computers and networks from security threats like phishing attacks, although why a fish who lives in the water would want to go anywhere near an electronic device beats us.  Shadow also sniffs out any potential intruders and points these out to his hooman to lock it down!

The work from home life is the one for us dogs, we’ve mastered the art of the video calls from our beds.  Although working a mouse or keyboard with our paws continues to be a rather tiresome task, which we just end up delegating to the hoomans.  We also like to make sure that during the MJD meetings that we make our presence known so that the hoomans don’t all forget who the real management are!

 

The lovely summer weather has allowed us some even more exciting activities at a weekend.  Skye has discovered swimming in the sea, much to my distaste, I am not so keen on jumping into the waves.  I prefer to paddle my paws.  Shadow loves to keep an eye on all the birds in the garden and on a walk and loves a cuddle with his hooman and mini-hoomans at the end of a hard day’s work!

Some of you may be wondering whether we managed to get our treat pay rise that we were negotiating in our last update, and after many puppy dog eyes to our hoomans we all secured an extra treat!  Woof!  Time to launch the next round of negotiations for more sleep time, Skye, Shadow on the count of three, puppy dog eyes! 1…2…3!

 

 

Join the MJD Team!

Published: 11 June 2021
Written by Natalie Finlayson
No comments
Categories: The Team @ MJD

This week our blog is focused on our search for an IT Support Apprentice!  We’re looking for an enthusiastic and focused individual to join our team here at MJD.

As our IT Support Apprentice you will be working alongside a team of IT Professionals, two of which have previously undertaken Modern Apprenticeships, so we have good experience in providing a high quality and enjoyable apprenticeship and learning to help you grow your skills and confidence in the workplace.  You can see Marko and Gareth below when they were interviewed by DYW in 2017 for Scottish Apprenticeship week.

Some of your main roles and responsibilities will include: –

  • being the first point of contact for customers when reporting their technical issues by phone or email
  • providing an effective remote support service for customers
  • resolving a range of technical issues and incidents that our clients face
  • delivering excellent customer service at all times.

As our IT Support Apprentice you will get a variety of experience working with our team on remote troubleshooting sessions and in the workshop.  You will also get experience and knowledge of the many services and processes we carry out for our clients to ensure their IT continues to run smoothly.

At the end of last year, we produced a video for DYW with our advice and experiences of a career in IT, which may be beneficial to help you decide if this position is a good fit for you.

For further details and applications, you can either go to the position on Moray Pathways here or you can apply through our Facebook job advert.  We’re excited to hear from our applicants and to welcoming our new apprentice to the MJD Team.

Why do I need a driver for my PC?

Published: 4 June 2021
Written by Natalie Finlayson
No comments
Categories: Uncategorized

In our last blog post we touched upon the topic of driver software, so lets dive deeper into the role of a driver and why they are necessary to allow your PC or laptop to run.

A driver is a small piece of software which communicates the instructions from your devices Operating System (OS) and the programmes in use on the device.  It acts in much the same way as a translator would, to allow us to understand another individual speaking in a foreign language.  The driver gives the OS and installed programmes the correct language to communicate with your device.  Internal devices such as Disk drives, DVD drives, sound and graphics cards and external devices like printers, keyboards and monitors all require drivers to work properly with your PC or laptop.  Most of the time without the correct driver, the device may not function properly, if even at all.

Device drivers mean that each device you might want to connect with your PC doesn’t need to be able to communicate directly with any possible combination of software and OS on your PC.  The device driver doesn’t need to have an interface that you as the user can interact with and understand as it allows the software or OS to communicate with you as the user.

Drivers like any piece of software get updates too, and sometimes when you experience an issue with a device or your PC it can be due to an out of date driver.  As a result, you may sometimes hear or be told by our engineers that they are checking the drivers installed on your PC and then checking for any updates, to see if this will resolve your issues.  Just as new words are added to the vocabulary and translations between languages need updated, the language that our computers use changes and develops.  Windows 10 has a large amount of built-in drivers, and therefore this may be why until reading this blog you have rarely come across or had to consider your device drivers.  Hopefully this will help to give you some understanding of what a driver is and why it’s necessary ready for the next time you are speaking with one of the team here at MJD about an issue on your PC caused by your drivers.

What is an Operating System?

Published: 21 May 2021
Written by Natalie Finlayson
No comments
Categories: Hardware, IT Terminology, Training

This week we are going to demystify what an Operating System is.  The term is sometimes shortened to OS as well.  Our mobile phones, laptops, PCs and servers all have operating systems to be able to run the applications and carry out the tasks we require of them on a day to day basis.

So, what is an operating system?  It is the primary software installed on a device that manages and coordinates the hardware and software installed on the device.  It provides us as the user with an easier way to interact with the device.  It manages all devices which provide input to the device and sends information to output devices.  It does this with software called drivers which are written by the hardware creators to allow it to communicate with other devices.  Common examples of Operating System are Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Android, iOS.

To explain how this works, lets run through an example of a task many of us carry out on a frequent basis: printing a document in Microsoft Word on a Windows machine.

 

This means that your software programmes do not have to worry about all the different input and output devices that might be used, it just passes the instruction to the Operating System to deal with it.  Without an Operating System you could not run many of the programmes you use day to day as they would not be able to communicate with the hardware connected to your device.  It is a very important piece of software in our IT setup that often gets overlooked, but not today in our blog!

 

Newsletter Signup

If you would like to receive a notification when a new blog post goes live, please enter your email address below.