The Computer Engineers Network

I have been in the computing business for over 25 years now. Over the coming weeks and months I will be constructing this web site into order to promote my services and skills. There are many people out there offering computer products and services of one kind of another and the trick is to be able to distinguish between reputable and skilled engineers and those who might be classed as not so reputable.

As I develop this web site the look and feel will change periodically since I am using Joomla. My aim is to master this tool with a view to enhance and speed up the development of web sites for my customers.

Whilst I am developing this site please feel free to contact me by email - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call me on my mobile - 07738 817260. If I cannot take your call then please leave me a message. I will endevour to respond as quickly as possible. In the event of an emergency then send me a text which alerts me to the urgency of the situation.

Viruses

Ever since the the evolution of the first home computer some bright intelligent person decided the world could benefiit from some code that could do varying degrees of damage to a computer. Later these snippets of code became know as viruses. And as we all know this has become a billion dollar industry.

However clever or worldly wise you think you are it would be extremely foolish not to have some form of protection against these threats, and somewhere along the line you will almost certainly pay for it. And you are almost guarenteed to pay for it if you do not have any protection.

New Computers

Just a small word about new computers. There was a time when I sold new computers, however changes in legislation and some of the deals that larger suppliers offer make it impossible to compete in this market any more.

However there are still two senarios where I can be of assistance. Firstly you can purchase all the components yourself and I can build the computer for you or I can supervise you in the construction of your own computer.

If either of those two options does not suit you then I would be more that happy to advise on a suitable purchase and then configure the machine for your specific needs.

Backups

One of the most essential elements of any computing enviroment is regular and safe backups.

You would be suprised how many people and small businesses neglect this important function! And for what! The cost of some backup equipment and media to backup onto? If you need convincing then ask yourself a very simple question? How much money do you stand to lose if your business cannot function because your computers are down?

Whenever there is a critical faillure of one description or another it is imperative that any system be restored as quickly as possible. Also the accidental deletion of data needs to be catered for as well. In both scenarios No Backup = No Recovery! Simple and straightforward. And if your business relies on it's IT systems to run then this becomes a very painful and expensive excercies!

Plagiarism

Some people are making a meal out of the fact that people copy other people's ideas. Welcome to the real world! The simple truth is that to a greater or lesser extent everybody copies someone else at some stage or an another. Thats human nature. When we see a good idea we copy it! And why not! Well there is a whole debate raging round this but whilst others waste their time and energy over what I consider to be a rather trivial issue I will continue to do what I do best and serve the needs of my customers.

The simple truth is it goes on and I for one am not going to lose any sleep over it. In fact it's actually a very good compliment. So for those who do copy my work I will say thank you. It is a shame that you cannot create your own original work! C'est la vie!

No Fix No Fee

I must admit to being somewhat bemused whenever I see anyone offering a "No Fix - No Fee" service! One has to ask the question is there such a thing as this? And to be truthfull the answer is almost certainly no!

Whenever my services are called upon you are paying for my expertise and experience - not my time! Although ironically I do charge an hourly rate which I believe is consumerate with my knowledge and experience. There are jobs which have a fixed rate applied to them, merely because they actually take a long time to complete, and are done using software tools, and are to a large extent "unattended" which means I can be doing other things in the meantime.

Where I encounter a situation where I cannot resolve the issue or provide a solution then naturally I would be extremely reluctant to charge anything other than a small fee merely to cover any incurred expenses. However I do not and will not offer a "No Fix - No Fee Service" simply because I do not believe that scenario exists! In fact it could be used to invent a problem that does not exist!

Small Businesses

Small Businesses often need more specialist services especially as their network and dependancy on IT grows.