Fortix

The new version of Google documents

Tue, 15 May 2012 09:15:00 GMT

Here are some of the most interesting features of the new version of Google documents:

Real-time collaboration: See updates from other collaborators as they edit the document.
Higher-quality imports: More consistent imports from your desktop into Google Docs.
Chat with other collaborators: As you make your edits, you can chat with other document editors about the changes, from within the document.
Ruler: Google documents has a ruler for setting margins, indentations and tab stops.

What else is different?

You will probably notice that some features from the older version of Google documents are not available yet.

However, these features from the previous version of Google documents won't be available in the new version:

Offline document access via Google Gears
Edit HTML
Edit CSS

Keyboard shortcuts have also changed. Check the list of new keyboard shortcuts.

Which version am I using?

An easy way to tell if you're using the new version is if there's a ruler above the editing space. (Just make sure that the ruler is enabled from View > Show ruler)

Transitioning from the old version of Google Documents

You might also want to learn about how to upgrade your documents to the new version of Google documents.

Full-screen mode: Google has added some options to maximise your screen real-estate in the new version. You can remove certain toolbars and controls from the View menu by selecting Compact controls or Hide controls, which will hide the controls above the editing space.
Greater editing space: If you're looking for even more space, it can also help to increase the editing space of your document. We encourage you to adjust the page settings if you'd like a larger editing space from File > Page setup (You may find the Landscape setting useful or the page size A4).
Hiding the ruler: If you find the ruler unnecessary, you can disable it from View > Show ruler.
HTML: We know that some users have used the older version of Google Documents as a lightweight HTML editor, especially for newsletters or to share with others. For this use, we encourage you to give Google Sites a try - which also allows easy sharing of a group website.
Speed: The new editor is more computationally advanced and works best in browsers with fast javascript engines. If you're looking for a fast browser, we recommend Google Chrome.

Seagate reached 1Tbit per square inch density for harddrives

Fri, 11 May 2012 13:08:00 GMT

Seagate announced the demonstration of the new technology of hard drives using Heat-Assisted Magnetic Recordingon, HAMR, which reached a density of stored data 1Tb/square inch, and significantly outperformed the density of hard drives using current technologies.
The first discs using this technology could reach capacity of 6 TB.

The HAMR technology uses a more magnetic stable recording medium which can achieve higher density of stored data for which is it more difficult to be changed by magnetization of the storage medium.
When saving, HAMR uses laser to locally heat the medium at the position where the data is stored

The new record density was achieved with HAMR technology (when compared to the previous technologies) by improving the recording material and the improvements made in optical recording headers.

Modern magnetic disk drives are using Perpendicular Magnetic Recording (PMR) technology for the last few years, with which data is stored without heating the medium and areas preserving the individual bits are magnetized vertically.
The available maximum of disks using PMR technology is 744 Gbit / square inch at the 500 GB 2.5 "drives in the plate by Toshiba. 3.5" drives from Seagate 1 TB plates have a density of stored data 620 Gbit / square inch.

Estimated maximum of PMR technology is only one terabit / square inch, which, according to Seagate should be achieved in several years.

Company has not specified at what stage of development are the HAMR technology hard drives and how the from demonstrated is far from usage in mass-marketed discs. Seagate only stated that the HAMR hard drives will reach the market in this decade.

Seagate anticipates that the company's first drives using HAMR technology will have a data density of slightly more than 1 Tbit / square inch and 3.5" models will have a capacity of 6 TB, 2.5" 2 TB models.

In subsequent years, the density should increase to 5 to 10 Tbit / square inch and within ten years from the start of using HAMR and 3.5 "drives will be able to get to the potential maximum capacity of 30 TB to 60 TB and 2.5" disk capacity from 10 TB to 20 TB.

Google Apps Sync for Microsoft Outlook® 3.1 Rollout

Thu, 10 May 2012 00:43:00 GMT

Version 3.1 of Google Apps Sync for Microsoft Outlook® is rolling out over the next 2-3 weeks with the following new features:

New registry key for hiding the Synchronization Status dialog for new users
Disabled services are now indicated in the Synchronization Status
"Error reported" fix

Editions included:
Google Apps for Business, Government and Education

Languages included:
US English Only
How to access what's new:

1. Update Google Apps Sync

- If you installed Google App Sync: Updates are checked for and downloaded to your computer automatically.
- If your administrator installed Google Apps Sync: Updates are downloaded to your computer automatically, if your administrator enables automatic updates.

You can also download the latest version at any time from the Google Apps Sync download page.

2. For the update to go into effect:

If you have Windows XP: Restart your computer.
If you have Windows Vista: Restart Microsoft Outlook®.

For more information:
http://support.google.com/a/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=153463
https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gappssync

New features coming with Groups Redesign

Wed, 09 May 2012 01:16:00 GMT

Coming when: Tuesday, May 15, 2012

SUMMARY

Users on Google Apps domains with rapid release will see the totally new and redesigned version of Google Groups that offers a new and improved user interface, collaborative inbox, take and assign functionality, full multi-domain support, advanced search operators, new ways of viewing group content, and much more.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

You will see a horizontal blue bar toward the top of the groups page saying, “The old Google Groups will be going away soon. Switch to the new Google Groups.” Upon clicking Switch, you will see the new Google Groups.

What are Google Groups?

A group is a online environment for discussing items related to a specific subject, such as soccer or GMail. A group can contain multiple topics. Topics are different discussions related to the group's subject. Topics in a group about soccer might be “What are the rules of the game?” or “Soccer game this Saturday.” Topics can contain multiple posts. Posts are replies from readers to the topic.

Google Groups is a Google product allowing you to create online and email groups. Google Groups is free of charge and available at www.groups.google.com. Following are some things you can do with Google Groups:

Engage in discussions about a specific subject.
Create a question and answer customer support group for a product, such as a piece of software you're company has written.
Organize meetings, conferences, or social events among members of a group.
Find people with similar hobbies, interests, or backgrounds.
Read group posts through email, the online interface, or both.
There are two types of Google Groups user roles: Participants and administrators. Participants subscribe to groups and participate in group discussions. Administrators create new groups and manage group members, discussions, and other settings. A role's permissions determines what a user can do within a group.

Introducing AdWords Express

Thu, 03 May 2012 01:26:00 GMT

Google AdWords Express has launched in Australia and New Zealand, offering local businesses the quickest, easiest way to advertise on Google Search and Maps.

AdWords Express may help you win clients that you may have perhaps previously decided not to work with due to a focus that was too local or a budget too small.

With reduced setup times (just a few simple steps) and an easier than ever to use interface, it can be a great way to introduce small businesses to the possibilities of online advertising.

AdWords Express vs. AdWords

To learn more about AdWords Express, visit www.google.com.au/adwords/express.

Say hello (or olá or halo or salam) to automatic message translation in Gmail

Wed, 02 May 2012 00:48:00 GMT

Posted by Jeff Chin, Product Manager, Google Translate

We're excited to announce three Gmail Labs graduations today: Automatic Message Translation, Smart Mute and Title Tweaks.

Automatic Message Translation

Did you ever dream about a future where your communications device could transcend language with ease? Well, that day is a lot closer. Back when we launched automatic message translation in Gmail Labs, we were curious to see how people would use it.

We heard immediately from Google Apps for Business users that this was a killer feature for working with local teams across the world. Some people just wanted to easily read newsletters from abroad. Another person wrote in telling us how he set up his mom’s Gmail to translate everything into her native language, thus saving countless explanatory phone calls (he thanked us profusely). I continue to use it to participate in discussions with the global Google offices I often visit.
Since message translation was one of the most popular labs, we decided it was time to graduate from Gmail Labs and move into the real world. Over the next few days, everyone who uses Gmail will be getting the convenience of translation added to their email. The next time you receive a message in a language other than your own, just click on Translate message in the header at the top of the message,

and it will be instantly translated into your language:

If you're bi-lingual and don't need translation for that language, just click on Turn off for: [language]. Or if you'd like to automatically have messages in that language translated into your language, click Always Translate. If you accidentally turned off the message translation feature for a particular language, or don't see the Translate message header on a message, click on the down arrow next to Reply at the top-right of the message pane and select the Translate message option in the drop-down.

Opera Mini Now Has 169 Million Users, 56% Of Them Only Use The Mobile Web

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 13:43:00 GMT

On the desktop, Opera‘s browser is only a minor player compared to Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome and Safari, but as a mobile browser, Opera competes head-to-head with Apple and Google. Worldwide, depending on which statistics you believe, it is either just ahead of the competition or a close runner-up. In developing countries, Opera is generally far ahead of the competition. According to an interesting new white paper by Opera, in which the company took a look at how its users around the world actually use the browser, it’s hard to underestimate the importance of mobile browsing in developing countries.

The study, which was conducted between November 2010 and November 2011, found that globally, 56% of Opera users and 43% of those who use another browser only access the Internet via their mobile devices. In some countries, including Egypt (72%), Bangladesh (69%), Brazil (65%) and South Africa (61%), these numbers for Opera users are significantly higher. At first glance, these numbers look very high. Given that traditional wired Internet access in many of these countries is rather limited, though, mobile phones are often the easiest and cheapest way to get online for many of these users.

This being an Opera report (so take this data with a grain of salt), the company also compared what its users do on the mobile web to users who use other browsers. The company, for example, found that its users are 35% more likely to purchase music and games via their mobile devices than those who use another browser. In most countries, Opera users are also younger, better educated and report higher satisfaction with their mobile Internet experiences. According to the report, these users are also “eight percentage points more likely than average to spend more than an hour online in one session and 12 percentage points more likely than non-Opera users.”

As for Opera itself, the company also today announced that it now has 168.8 million Opera Mini users (up 64% from March 2011). These users viewed over 117 billion pages. That’s up 96% from last year and up 8.1% compared to February 2012. In total, Opera Mini users generated over 1,918 million MB of data worldwide.

New Gmail feature: Contacts delegation

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 08:03:00 GMT

Contacts delegation allows users to delegate full access to the contacts in their “My Contacts” group without granting access to their mail or anything else in their accounts.

You may delegate your contacts only to other users within your domain. Like mail delegation, you may delegate your contacts to no more than 25 other users at the same time. Delegation allows the sharing of the entire “My Contacts” list only. You cannot delegate a subset of your “My Contacts” or delegate contacts not in your “My Contacts.”

Release track:
Rapid

Editions included:
Google Apps, Google Apps for Business, Government and Education

Languages included:
All languages supported

How to access what's new:
- Navigate to www.google.com/contacts
- The "More" menu now has a "Manage delegation settings" option

For more information:
http://support.google.com/a/bin/answer.py?hl=en&topic=20016&answer=2590392

Source: whatsnew.googleapps.com

New version of Google Apps Connector for BlackBerry® Enterprise Server now available

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 06:45:00 GMT

Version 4.5 of Google Apps Connector for BlackBerry® Enterprise Server is now available with the following improvements:

Support for automatic user password generation in BlackBerry Administration Service (BAS)
New Configuration Settings page for easier enablement of common optional features, such as send-as and read-receipt support
Performance, reliability, and stability improvements Resolved issues that caused PST file corruption
Google Apps Connector attempts to repair any remaining corruptions automatically. Miscellaneous bug fixes

Editions included:
Google Apps for Business, Government and Education

Languages included:
US English

How to access what's new
http://support.google.com/a/bin/answer.py?hl=en&topic=27537&ctx=topic&answer=159400

To download Apps Conector

http://tools.google.com/dlpage/appsconnector

If you want to stay current on what's coming in Google Apps
http://whatsnew.googleapps.com/

What is Google Drive?

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 04:59:00 GMT

As of today Google Drive roll-out based on a geographical location has started.
This morning we noticed than GA Control Panel has been renamed and has got some new features however the service is still expected. Google Docs are already showing 5GB of storage compared to 1GB before.

Google Drive is a cloud storage service…

In Google Drive you can store your documents, photos, music, videos, etc. all in one place. It syncs with your mobile devices and your computer, so if you make a change from one gadget, it will automatically show up if you were to access it elsewhere.

It tracks your changes too, so if you make an edit to the document and hit save, you can still look back at all your revisions from the past 30 days. Of course it relies heavily on Google search, with image recognition for browsing your photos and some OCR capabilities for sniffing out text in pictures.

Some features that Google Drive offers

Comments on files
Image recognition
Web based file viewer (More than 30 different types of files, including Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and HD video.)
2-factor authentication

Official Google Drive introduction

Access everywhere.
Google Drive is everywhere you are – on the web, in your home, at the office and on the go. So wherever you are, your stuff is just...there. Ready to go, ready to share. Get started with 5 GB free.

Google Drive is available for:

PC and Mac
iPhone and iPad (coming soon)
Android devices

The power of the humble website

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 02:18:00 GMT

In case you haven’t noticed, websites are now more important to your business as the store front or office you once called or walked into.

It’s become your virtual premises, which in turn has become the new “go to” point for pretty much anything you want to do with that business.

You want to buy something, you go to the website. You want to complain, ditto. You want to speak to finance, you guessed it, your search starts at the website.

So websites are now an intrinsic part of the overall operations of today’s business. The question is, are they being treated that way?

Are you giving your website due priority?

Do you treat your website with as much priority as taxation, payroll, staff and clean tearooms, or is it just something you will get around to when you get time and/or money?

Unfortunately for many businesses, the website remains a pesky grudge purchase that they keep getting annoying cold calls about.

The web really is the first port of call with your organisation for the vast bulk of the public and the businesses they work in.

And the less your website allows them to do what they want at the time and place they want to do it, the more you will lose their interest and possibly their business.

The days of expecting them to pick up the phone to contact you are rapidly declining.

Money making AND saving

But websites are moving beyond just the promotional. What about the savings you can make from letting them interact with your website the way they want to?

Big organisations know that labour is probably the biggest expense they have. They (rightly or wrongly) seek to minimise it at every turn.

Those cheap airfares you have taken advantage of are a perfect example. What airlines are telling you is that if you can help yourself to your own ticket online, we will share the savings we are making with you. It’s really not such a bad proposition.

In fact, a website is likely to be far more valuable to a smaller business because of these labour-saving capabilities.

If we can reduce the time spent on some individual customer or stakeholder communication, the more we can dedicate time to providing or producing the product or service we offer.

And that means a measurable impact on your bottom line.

Extracts from an Article posted by Smart Company by Craig Reardon

Fortixting News

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 06:50:00 GMT

Fortix is bringing you a quick update about what has been hanging in the online world.

Our world has become mobile. 77% of the world population (5.3 billion) uses a mobile phone as their most important device for communication. The last three years over 300,000 mobile apps have been developed, every day YouTube plays back 200 million videos on mobile devices. M-payments are now worth US$240 billion. The predictions for coming years are booming. Businesses and brands can’t deny this channel. They have to create their mobile presence in this world. (to learn more go to: http://www.mobilemarketingnederland.nl)

Speaking of mobile devices, here is one handy application, using the principles of open journalism. http://bambuser.com/broadcasts It has been around for a while and now has more than 1 million users.

Despite all the predictions that Facebook will overtake all other Social Networks, new communication platforms are still rising. http://n0tice.com was introduced only a few days ago by Guardian Media Group (GMG) at Social Media World Forum in London. This online notice board targets local communities and strives to encourage people to be active within. Users can share current events in a city or country, as well as planned events or their products and services available in the area.

But back to Australia! This local project grabbed our attention few weeks ago and we already tweeted about it so only to remind you of this interesting local project http://itasker.com.au. Don't know how to do something? Don’t have time? Don’t feel like it? Post a itasker and find someone else to do the job.

Finally, something funny to make you laugh:

Dads in Briefs - very funny, although not recommended while eating.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=FwrZzk-45Jk

A dramatic surprise on a quiet square had already gone viral, but just in case you don’t follow us on Pinterest or Facebook.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=316AzLYfAzw

Google Currents

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 02:40:00 GMT

Google Currents is a news reader for phones and tablets that aims to take your favorite sources of web news and bring them together into one centralized location, all while adding some serious eye candy to the formula. To put it simply, Google Currents makes magazines out of your favorite websites, complete with page turning gestures, as well as featured articles and images.

If this formula sounds familiar to you that’s because you may have heard of a little app known as Flipboard for iOS. In 2010 Google attempted to buy Flipboard so they could bring the magazine like experience to Android devices. After Flipboard declined, Google set out to create their own stylish news reader, and that’s exactly what they’ve done.

What was code-named ”Propeller” is now known as Google Currents, and after spending a good bit of time with the app on my tablet, I feel confident in saying that Google has really out done themselves this time. Every element of the UI is slick and intuitive, from browsing sources to flipping through articles, everything about the experience feels incredibly natural. In a sense, it feels as if you’re reading through a familiar magazine that is somehow constantly replenishing with new things to read.

The comfort that comes with reading a magazine combined with access to an infinite amount of articles from the web is what gives Google Currents its edge, not to mention it’s free of charge, a breeze to use, and sets up in less than 30 seconds. Google Currents looks great on any device, however tablet owners especially shouldn’t miss out on this one!

Google+ is Evolving

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 02:30:00 GMT

For a tour of their latest improvements, watch the video:

To read more about whats different check out the article below by Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols, on the latest changes:

Google Plus, which now has 170-million users according to Vic Gundotra, a Google senior vice president, has been redesigned to make it easier to use and more attractive. The first feature you’ll notice is the left-hand Google Plus menu-bar, the “ribbon.” From it you can quickly go to your favorite Google Plus service.

And, I do mean your favorite service. Google makes it possible for you to edit the ribbon, So, for example, you can place your favorite service on the top. Or, if you don’t care for one—I have no real use for social network games—drop them in the bottom-right “More” box. If you hover hover over some applications you’ll also be presented with a set of quick actions for them. For example, if you hover over the photos app, you’ll get options to add images from your phone or an online album.

It’s also a lot easier to start video hangouts. These are free video-conferences. You can have up to ten people in a hangout. It’s always been a nice feature, but a trifle hidden. Now, it’s right on the ribbon. Once in it, it’s also easy to pick and choose who you want to join you in your impromptu video-conference.

Some of the changes seem to be purely cosmetic. For example, what Google calls an Activity drawer is just a slide-out box that displays +1s and any reshares of your post. That information used to be displayed below all posts. In the new Google Plus vocabulary, a Card is the box that contains posts and everything that goes with it such as comments, plus ones, shares, etc., etc. Gundotrra says, “stream of conversation ‘cards’ that make it easier to scan and join discussions.” I don’t see any real difference between this and the old way.

One thing, which wasn’t spelled out, is that when you now add pictures to your Google+ account, you can also give them a quick clean-up with the built-in photo editor. It’s not going to replace Photoshop, but by integrating with Google’s Web-based Picasa photo editor it does make it dead easy to neaten up photos you want to share with friends and family.

There’s also a new Explore page. This is meant to keep you up to date with what’s new and happening with Google+. So far, I don’t find this very interesting. I withholding final judgment on it though until I see what Google has in mind for it.

There are also several small nice features. For example, shades of Twitter and it’s trends display, a Trending on Google+ display on the home page.

Each of your circles also now has a slider that you use to determine how much of each circle’s message feed makes it to your main all-circles feed. For example, I have my friends and family circles set to forward everything to my main stream. My Google Tech circle, which just has Google developers and engineers in it, is set to only display a few things on my main feed. If I want to know what’s going on at the Google campus, I just head directly to that circle.

This new look and feel, however, doesn’t extend to Google+ on tablets and smartphones. They’ll have to wait for another day. I suspect, we’re going to wait for Google to finish up its plans for the white space, before we need a major overhaul of its mobile applications.

Last, but not least, there’s the “Whitespace.” On big monitors, this is a honking huge whitespace between the main news feed and my online friends list. What’s going to go there? We don’t know. We do know that Google plans to put something there??

Exerts from Article on zdnet.com blog by Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols

Fortix Bloody Friday 13th aka saving lives is not scary

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 06:27:00 GMT

Here we go again - Friday 13th! There is at least one Friday the 13th in every calendar year. We in Fortix are not superstitious. All right, all right, maybe a bit, sometimes we knock or touch the wood, just in case. However, it may not be considered by everyone a special date but we as a team decided to do something special.

Did you know you can also donate as a group and have a van to pick you up? We were also amazed by the option to register our group online and compare our tally with similar business in Australia.

So what are you waiting for!? Go to http://www.donateblood.com.au organize your Bloody good day today. Let’s see if you can beat us in saving lives.

New donors wishing to register can call 13 14 95.

Fortix Vampire gallery

Photo Gallery Fortix Bloody Friday