Browsed by
Category: Software

Working the cloud

Working the cloud

Comments 2 comments

cloudIn the last year or two my working life has pretty much moved from a traditional office based setup to an almost purely online existence.

Thanks to the huge surge in online applications and cloud computing, combined with more affordable and faster  broadband connections it is now possible to make full use of online apps in South Africa.

These days I rotate between a office Laptop with a big screen, a desktop at home, an ultra portable netbook and an iphone. Each device has its time and place, but it has always been a nightmare keeping everything in sync, from contacts to emails to passwords to documents.  This was even more of a pain every time I had to re-install any of these devices.

Well, now it is a different story, and those about to re-install as part of their Windows 7 upgrade should take note.

…

Read More Read More

Windows 7 on the Aspire One

Windows 7 on the Aspire One

Comments 0 Comment

aboutsmallI took the plunge this weekend and installed Windows 7 on my Aspire One D150 netbook.

Initial indications are that it is remarkedly zippier than the dated Windows XP that was on their previously. Note that I am not going to comment on any new windows 7 features, as this post is about the netbook install itself.

aspireoneThe install was done using an external USB CDROM drive, from the official 2GB DVD image. The total install time was less than 30 minutes, taking far less time than expected.  The only issue encountered during the install was that I could not re-format the origina lWindows XP partition. This resulted in the final result containing some of the old non windows directories on the C: drive.

…

Read More Read More

Want creative freedom? get Morph

Want creative freedom? get Morph

Comments 6 comments

I am a keen and long term supporter of both yootheme and RocketTheme, having long ago given up on free templates. The time you save using a professionally designed template means there is simply no comparison.

I also make extensive use of the template addons, like the lightbox effects, sliders, accordians and other tools that are available from these template masters.

My one frustration has always been the limited choice, as both only brings out one template a month, and editing these into unique variations does make life a bore. …

Read More Read More

eBox, a home network solution par none

eBox, a home network solution par none

Comments 4 comments

eb
eBox Platform is a unified network server that offers easy and efficient computer network administration for SMBs. It can act as a Gateway, an Infrastructure Manager, a Unified Threat Manager, an Office Server, a Unified Communication Server or a combination of them. These functionalities are tightly integrated, automating most tasks, avoiding mistakes and saving time for system administrators.

I have a fairly complicated home network, which includes several desktops , a linux server, laptops, media centre, x-box, nintendo, wifi access point, wifi phones, etc. All of these gadgets connect to the internet for email and other connectivity based stuff.

To make matters worse, we also run a B&B on the same property, so have guest access into our home network via the Wifi access point (via WPA2 encryption).

…

Read More Read More

Cape Town Joomla Day

Cape Town Joomla Day

Comments 3 comments

Joomla Day

I attended Joomla Day in Cape Town this weekend. Ryan Ozimek from the Joomla core leadership team gave the keynote address, giving us an overview on the people and passion behind Joomla. It is good to know that there is real professionalism and drive behind this great open source innovation.

One of the several highlights for me  was the overview of the new Morph template framework introduced by the the joomla junkies.  Another was the talk by Phehello Mofokeng on the real life world of using Joomla.

Four interesting point raised during the day are as follows: …

Read More Read More

Joomla Web Design training comes to the Garden Route

Joomla Web Design training comes to the Garden Route

Comments 0 Comment

Office Reliance is hosting the Garden Route’s first Joomla web design course. The course will run from 2 to 4 December at the Reliance training center.

“Joomla is an award-winning content management system (CMS), which enables you to build Web sites and powerful online applications. Many aspects, including its ease-of-use and extensibility, have made Joomla the most popular Web site software available. Best of all, Joomla is an open source solution that is freely available to everyone.”

The course is split into three separate parts, on consecutive days.  This allows participants to pick the days that are suited to there particular skill level. …

Read More Read More

Company website overhaul

Company website overhaul

Comments 1 comment

Office Reliance is one year old! As part of the celebrations we decided to redo the website in line with our updated web 2.0 branding. The site has been simplified and streamlined along usability guidelines.

Before After

The new site uses lots more images and unfortunately the template is fairly bloated with icons, styles and scripts, but the overall load time should be manageable.

After burning lots of midnight oil the new site has finally gone live. Go visit the new Office Reliance website, then let me know what you think.