Network Support News

Office 2010 has hit the Australian market, but what does the new version of Microsoft Office have to offer.

1 - Express your ideas more visually

Office 2010 opens up a world of design options to help you give life to your ideas. The new and improved picture formatting tools such as color saturation and artistic effects let you transform your document visuals into a work of art. Combined with a wide range of new prebuilt Office themes and SmartArt® graphic layouts, Office 2010 gives you more ways to make your ideas stick. Check out PowerPoint 2010 and Word 2010.

2 - Accomplish more when working together

Brainstorm ideas, provide better version control, and meet deadlines faster when you work in groups. The co-authoring experience for Word 2010, PowerPoint 2010, Excel Web App and OneNote shared notebooks let you work on a file with several people at once — even from different locations.2

3 - Enjoy the familiar Office experience from more locations and more devices

With Office 2010, you can get things done more easily, from more locations and more devices. Using a smartphone or virtually any computer with an Internet connection, you can work when and where you want to work.3

Microsoft Office Web Apps

Extend your Office 2010 experience to the web. Store your Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote files online and then access, view, edit, and share content through the Web.

Microsoft Office Mobile 2010

Stay current and respond quickly using enhanced mobile versions of Office 2010 applications, specifically suited to your Windows Mobile-based smartphone.

4 - Create powerful data insights and visuals

Track and highlight important trends with new data analysis and visualization features in Excel 2010. The new Sparklines feature delivers a clear and compact visual representation of your data with small charts within worksheet cells. Filter and segment your PivotTable data in multiple layers using Slicers to spend more time analyzing and less time formatting. See Excel 2010 in action.

5 - Deliver compelling presentations

Captivate your audience with personalized videos in your presentation. Insert and customize videos directly in PowerPoint 2010—trim, add fades and effects, or bookmark key points in the video to call attention to selected scenes. Videos you insert are now embedded by default, relieving you from managing and sending additional video files. See PowerPoint 2010 in action.

6 - Manage large volumes of e-mail with ease

With Outlook 2010 you can compress your long e-mail threads into a few conversations that can be categorized, filed, ignored, or cleaned up. The new Quick Steps feature let you perform multi-command tasks, such as reply and delete an e-mail in a single click, saving you time and inbox space. See Outlook 2010 in action.

7 - Store and track all your ideas and notes in one place

Get the ultimate digital notebook for tracking, organizing, and sharing your text, picture, video and audio notes with OneNote 2010. New features such as version tracking, automatic highlighting, and Linked Notes give you more control over your notes so you’re always on top of where your ideas came from and the latest changes when working in teams4. See OneNote 2010 in action.

8 - Get your message out instantly

Broadcast your PowerPoint presentation to a remote audience, whether or not they have PowerPoint installed.5 The new Broadcast Slide Show feature allows you to share your presentation through a Web browser quickly without additional set up. See the PowerPoint Broadcast Slide Show in action.

9 - Get things done faster and easier

Microsoft Office Backstage™ view replaces the traditional File menu to give you a centralized space for all of your file management tasks, such as the ability to save, share, print, and publish. The enhanced Ribbon across Office 2010 applications lets you access commands quickly and customize tabs to personalize the experience to your work style.

10 - Access work across devices and platforms

Enjoy the freedom of using Office 2010 from more locations on more devices. When you use Office 2010, you’re getting the familiar and intuitive Office experience across PCs, Smartphones, and Web browsers on the go.

The Apple ipad is here, what can you expect from this highly anticipated device?

If you have or have used an iphone or ipod touch, you are going to feel right at home with the ipad. Although the scope has been widened quite significantly with the ipad, the layout and feel are very similar to it's smaller siblings.

The ipad is primarily a multi-media device, with a rich and glossy 9.7inch LED screen it is great for watching movies, reading illustrated books and browsing photos.

Building on the legacy of Apple's ingenious design department, the ipad is sure to provide hours of entertainment. However it should be understood that the ipad was not designed to compete with laptops, in fact to you will need to sync it to a computer much like an iphone.

NetCare staffing update

Recently we identified that whilst as individuals we were delivering high levels or IT support, it was also true that our internal systems , procedures and staff development processes were not keeping up with our growth, and that sometimes our service levels to our clients suffered as a result.

Accordingly we have created a new senior position within NetCare - that of Service Desk Manager and I'm pleased to announce that Iain Nixon has now started with us in this role. Iain has a 20 year history in the IT industry, the last 8 years of which have been Service Desk Manager positions with larger organizations.

This has meant a change in Nicole Piontek's role - basically a reduction in the number of hats I'm asking her to wear. Nicole has done an outstanding job holding everything together over the last few years, always with limited resources and often under stressful circumstances. Nicole's new role with be Projects and Consulting Team Leader, as well as providing escalated IT support when required (yes, she still got multiple hats!).

Please feel free to call me on my direct line (9114-9921) if you would like me to expand further on these important initiatives to increase our levels of service to our clients.

Telstra announces changes to a couple of their most popular mobile plans

Telstra has replaced the "Telstra 3G Cap Plans" and "Telstra Next GTM Cap Plans" with the "New Telstra 3G Cap plans"

Key changes

Increased flag fall and tariff on some plans
Increased included credit for each Next GTM Cap Plan
Included any network credit to use with non Telstra Mobile Phones
Included data allowance for each Next GTM Cap Plan
MRO Credit (with Eligible MRO handset option)

For more information visit the Telstra Mobile Plans Page

Ultimate II Plans replace $150 Ultimate & Member Plan and New Ultimate Plan