What is co-working and would it work for you?

More and more businesses are moving away from owning their own premises and into the subscription style model of co-working offices. This isn’t a surprise to us, because this model fits with leasing cars, and of course our own business of leasing computers, but does co-working stack up? What are the positives and negatives, who uses them and do they work for everyone? We thought we’d do some research and share our findings with you here.

Who are Co-Working spaces aimed at?

An estimated 6% of the UK workforce are freelancers, that’s around 1.91 million people, and according to recent studies, this is set to escalate to approximately 50% by 2020. But it’s not just freelancers who are taking on co-working space, many larger organisations such as British Airways and KPMG are recognising the benefits of sharing working space with other businesses. Lloyd’s Bank allows 30% of its workforce to work flexibly to allow them a richer work/life balance, but this also reduces its overheads and the need for them to own large business premises. read more

Microsoft launches Minecraft Education Edition for the iPad this September. The Education Edition was previously available in schools only on Windows 10 devices as well as macOS, but this new iPad version begins rolling out to schools starting with the new term this September!

Photo credit: Mojang

Worldwide there are around 35 million teachers and students, across 115 countries who are licenced to use Minecraft: Education Edition. The Education Edition of this popular game comes with sample lesson plans such as “City Planning for Population Growth”, “Exploring Factors and Multiples” and “Effects of Deforestation”. Microsoft said “with Apple, we’re making it possible for schools using iPads to teach everything from math and chemistry to history and writing with Minecraft: Education Edition. Students can tap into the power of iPad and document their learning with the “Minecraft: Education Edition camera and portfolio.” read more

Printing is something that generally falls ‘under the radar’ in most offices.  You just expect to press print on your computer screen and that the printed paper will arrive on your desk within a matter of seconds. But how do we know which is the best printer for your business?

Simple Tablet style user interface

HardSoft offer a wide range of printers by various manufacturers on our typical Flexi-Lease.  The printers that HardSoft offer can range from day-to-day office printers and multifunction printers, all the way up to A1 and A0 large format printers. All are available on our 3-year Flexi-Lease with 3-year on-site warranty and telephone technical support. read more

A Mobile Workstation is a PC notebook computer which has high-end features which you wouldn’t usually find in a notebook. These high-end features include faster graphics processors, more powerful CPUs and additional memory, which enables the notebook to work as efficiently as a desktop workstation. Mobile workstations have often weighed slightly more than standard laptops but the latest models are becoming thinner and lighter than ever before. So if you need the

power and versatility that a desktop but need it to be portable and easy to carry around, a Mobile Workstation is the perfect solution. read more

We recently launched the HardSoft Creative Club, as a solution for our customers following numerous requests for the option of short-term hire of computer equipment. Leasing has numerous benefits for businesses, but sometimes you just need some kit to see you through a big project or an exhibition, and that’s where the Creative Club comes into its own.

Often clients commit to expensive computers with a specification they actually only need to use once in a blue moon. A typical example is taking an iMac Pro when its only needed to do the crunching twice a year. The Creative Club would allow a client to take a cheaper iMac 27″ i7, then get delivered the extra iMac Pro resource when it’s needed. read more

Being fully Apple Authorised, HardSoft are able to centrally register the Macs and iPads we lease to customers with Apple, which helps them with the management of their assets. Apple have recently relaunched their Device Enrolment Programme (DEP) as the new Apple Business Manager. This is, in essence, the enterprise version of Apple School Manager, which gives companies a web-based portal for IT managers to deploy and manage Apple devices across the workplace. Apple Business Manager lets you buy content and configure automatic device enrollment in your Mobile Device Management (MDM) solution. read more

What makes leasing from HardSoft so different from all the other leasing companies out there? We believe that it’s the holistic approach we take to our business, we care about our customers and the experience they have with us so we do our best to make sure that experience is a beneficial and helpful as possible. We also listen to our customers and try to develop new offerings that fit with what they’re looking for.

For example, we have recently launched our new HardSoft Creative Club. The Creative Club gives our customers access to a pool of kit for short-term hire. That’s the kit they need when they need it for short-term projects, for just £6 per week plus VAT. The kit in the pool has a daily points value and customers receive 350 points annually to use to hire the extra kit they need and at the time when they need it. All delivered and collected as part of their membership. It’s short-term computer hire that’s cheap and flexible, exactly what many of our customers have been asking for. read more

For as long as we’ve been trading, we’ve worked alongside startup businesses. In the current economic climate, it’s increasingly unusual but we actively encourage and support new and startup businesses. We do this by offering the same terms and conditions as established businesses, whether you started trading yesterday or ten years ago, or are a sole trader or a limited company.

Startups Grow and Mature

Over the years we have worked with some startups that have grown into thriving businesses and even household names. Back in their early days we helped a new business called Not on the High Street get set up with their technology and who can say they haven’t at least browsed their website for an unusual gift for a friend or loved one, in fact, most of us will have bought at least a couple of gifts from them. read more

Join HardSoft’s Exclusive ‘Creative Club’

For just £6 per week plus VAT, our members can have access to a pool of kit for short-term hire. That’s the kit you need when you need it for short-term projects. Nothing extra to pay. The kit in the pool will have a daily points value and you receive 350 points annually to use to hire the extra kit you need when you want it. All delivered and collected. It’s short-term computer hire that’s cheap and flexible.

Choose what you need from our Creative Club list

HardSoft’s new Creative Club is an exclusive group for our customers. If you’ve ever worked on a project and wished you had an extra MacBook Pro for a week or created a film and thought how much easier it would have been if you could have hired a 4K Camera and iMac Pro to make editing faster. Or even an iPad Pro just for a weekend to showcase at an exhibition. Maybe you need a Virtual Reality PC with an Oculus Rift headset then the Creative Club is perfect for you! read more

You have a shiny new computer (or computers) and they look fantastic and have made your life far simpler, but what if they get damaged or stolen? Would you be covered? And could you continue operating with no smartphone, laptop, or tablet? With your customers expecting a service from you that is fast and efficient, even a few days of downtime can cause you huge problems. Plus the costs of replacing your belongings can quickly mount up. Insurance is one of those things that always seems such a waste of money but is so important and a real must when you’re talking about expensive tech equipment. read more

Over the last 18 months, many major computer manufacturers  such as Lenovo, HP and Fujitsu have started offering subscription services for new computers and technology but what exactly is in it for you, and what is this terminology they use all about?  It’s something we’ve been talking about for a long time and is very much part of the HardSoft ethos and way of offering a subscription model for deployment and use of PC and Macs.

Here we explain these terms and acronyms which you may come across: read more

Here to Save the Day

Our technical support team are like Marvel’s Avengers. They’re a super-skilled, highly trained, slightly geeky and dysfunctional group of tech superheroes, who we call on whenever our customers are in trouble and need a helping hand. But don’t worry, they all wear their pants on the inside!

When you lease your Mac or PC from HardSoft with a HardSoft Flexi-Lease, you also get the benefit of three years warranty and support from our technical support team. The tech team are available for visits to help you with installation, training and support whenever you need help. We pride ourselves on our technical team’s knowledge and ability to fight most challenges like a superhero. They are able to do this because we make sure that they have the latest, and most up to date, training. This helps them to overcome the issues that they encounter quickly and effectively for our customers. read more

As Easy as Change, Continue, or Cancel.

We’re often asked about the flexibility of leasing in Ireland, and potential customers are often under the impression that leasing is inflexible and they will be tied into long contracts whilst their equipment becomes obsolete and old. We always tell them that leasing IT equipment is as simple as getting your mobile phone contract, they work in just the same way.

Here at HardSoft, we are the pioneers of the ‘Flexi-Lease’, so the clue is in the name. This scheme for businesses is simple and incredibly flexible, we call it Change, Continue, Cancel. All of our customers are offered guaranteed ownership of their equipment at the end of their lease term for just €1, but they can also choose to continue with a new lease once they reach the halfway point of their lease, upgrading their equipment at the same time, allowing them to have the latest and most up to date kit. read more

As Easy as Change, Continue, or Cancel.

We’re often asked about the flexibility of leasing, and potential customers are often under the impression that leasing is inflexible and they will be tied into long contracts whilst their equipment becomes obsolete and old. We always tell them that leasing IT equipment is as simple as getting your mobile phone contract, they work in just the same way.

Here at HardSoft, we are the pioneers of the ‘Flexi-Lease’, so the clue is in the name. This scheme for businesses is simple and incredibly flexible, we call it Change, Continue, Cancel. All of our customers are offered guaranteed ownership of their equipment at the end of their lease term for just £1, but they can also choose to continue with a new lease once they reach the halfway point of their lease, upgrading their equipment at the same time, allowing them to have the latest and most up to date kit. read more

What is Factoring?

Have you ever been thrilled to land a contract or project with a really big household name company, only to panic when you find out their payment terms are usually 90 days? So, you do the work for them, send in your invoice and then have to wait… and wait… and wait… to be paid. All whilst you’re still having to pay your bills and mortgage, and put food on the table! Well, that’s where invoice factoring comes in. You sell on your invoice to another company, who then pay you – depending on their terms – and wait for the client to pay them, meaning your precious cash flow is intact and you can continue working without gaining any grey hairs from the stress of waiting. Sound good? Well, we can now help you with this. read more

No design kit is complete without Wacom

This year Wacom has launched a new or updated range of products. The new Intuos Pro Paper and an updated Intuos Pro are already available and the Cintiq Pro is expected to arrive later this year! Leasing your Wacom makes sense because it makes access to the latest products much easier, without impacting on your cash flow. Here we take a look at the Wacom range and help you find the right one to lease.

Wacom Intuos Pro

This is a great option if you work in creative applications. Perfect for precision work and offering improved resolution and sensitivity than the original Intuos, as well as tilt recognition and ExpressKeys. The new Intuos Pro comes with the new Pro Pen 2, is x4 more accurate than the previous generation of Pro Pen and with 8,192 levels of pressure sensitivity it offers a more natural and responsive drawing experience. Just 8mm thick, it is thinner and more compact than its predecessors while keeping the same size active area. Both models come with a Touch Ring, 8 customisable ExpressKeys and on-pen slider switches so that you can have your favourite shortcuts right at your fingertips. read more

You can have a new Surface Book 2 on trial FREE for 48 hours!

A brand new Microsoft Surface Book 2 15-inch will be couriered to your office for 48 hours. Use it as you please, in the comfort of your own office, and download whatever software you like to see exactly how good it could be for you – don’t worry, when we collect it after 48 hours we’ll make sure it’s wiped securely so none of your data will be left behind.

Trial the Surface Book 2 for FREE

This is a great opportunity for any business to trial the Surface Book 2 in your own daily working conditions. With HardSoft taking care of all the delivery and collection logistics – free of charge, at a date to suit you. This offer is subject to limited availability and is only available for office(s) in London or the home counties, subject to the completion and approval of our application form please e-mail: Andrew@hardsoft.co.uk to take part, or for more information. NB: A credit card pre-authorisation will be required. read more

It can be daunting for a new businesses to apply for finance, but here at HardSoft we actively support and encourage new and startup businesses to lease from us. We offer the same terms and conditions to new or startup businesses that we do to long standing businesses, be they limited companies or sole traders.

New businesses can find it hard to establish a credit history, particularly with traditional financing methods such as banks often placing a ‘charge’ on your home as part of their finance deals. As an official Corporate Partner of Start Up Loans – the Government’s Start Up Loans programme which provides finance and support for new businesses – we can provide lease finance from £1,000 to £15,000 for both hardware and software and often with an instant decision with no requirements to provide any bank statements or supporting info. read more

When you think of IT and computer companies, we bet you think of a business filled with geeks, don’t you? Well the HardSoft team aren’t particularly geeky when it comes to computers – but they are pretty geeky when it comes to other stuff, so we thought it would be fun to do a geek-o-meter to show you just how geeky we can be. By the way, not all staff chose to complete our quick survey, so there may be even more geeks out there! 

“Being a geek means never having to play it cool about how much you like something.” – Simon Pegg read more

HardSoft and Microsoft invite our existing customers to come along to the ME Hotel London, for an introduction the Microsoft Surface devices including the new Surface Hub.

Surface Hub- come along to the ME Hotel, London

As approved Microsoft resellers, we are attending a specialist training event at the ME hotel London on Tuesday 8th May 2018 between 4 and 6pm. Each of our Account Managers are able to invite 2 of their customers to come along after the training event where they will then be able to experience a unique opportunity to get up close to the Surface Hub. HardSoft have only just taken this product on and we need to understand if its going to work for our customers. read more

Our MDs, Andrew and Phil, started out building PCs over 30 years ago (they are the fresh-faced boys in the cover image!) and we recently had a customer bring in a custom built PC which they had made for them in 1984, which just needed a quick repair but it was still going strong!

This got us thinking about the oldest tech our customers have which they are still using regularly. At around the same time we also came across a company – My Face on a Figure – that will make action figures with your face on! So, what better way to combine these two things, than to have a HardSoft competition? read more

The Microsoft Surface Book 2 is now available in 15” and costs the same to lease as the MacBook Pro 15” – but which one is best?

Surface Book 2 15″

With the Surface Book 2, Microsoft is clearly setting their sights on creative professionals who would usually go for the MacBook Pro. The Surface Book has the high-res display, long battery life, and high-end graphics performance that designers, animators, and video editors long for. You can detach the touchscreen and draw on it using the Surface Pen and Dial, and Microsoft has also packed in some higher-end components, including 8^th Gen Core processors and Nvidia GTX 1050 or 1060 graphics. read more

We were recently able to donate a large number of iPads to the charity Stand by Me, based in Hornchurch Essex, who help to support children around the world who are trapped in poverty and give them the chance to receive a great education, rise above their circumstances and reach their full potential.

Today we received these photos of the children with the iPads. Look at those smiles!

It’s great to see the children enjoying the iPads and also to know that they will help the teachers at the school to diversify their lesson plans and be more creative and interactive in their teaching methods. read more

Have some free training on us! Need to get into the nitty-gritty of software such as Cinema 4D, Revit or Adobe CS? 

If you’re a creative or developer, you’ll know that there are several software packages that you need have under your belt in order to stay ahead of the game. With this in mind HardSoft have teamed up with Academy Class training in order to help you out with free training on certain** new top-end Apple Mac computers.

Free training with Apple Macs in February!

Academy Class is a training provider for creatives and developers in the UK who are offering HardSoft customers free training on a range of 17 of their online courses, covering 9 software packages – all you have to do is log in using a rebate code and you have £238.00 worth of online training available at your fingertips. read more

If you have Macs your current network solution is likely to include a Mac mini, or even an XServe, configured with additional Server Apps from the App Store to enable functions such as file sharing and permissions etc.

You may have Macs but your next server needs to be Windows 2016 Server

The big issue with this is that since the old OSX server upgrade to the new version of MacOS High Sierra came into effect and server functionality has been severely reduced as Apple pull back support for Servers and push towards Cloud only Servers.

Apple have also removed FTP and iOS File sharing from the Server App, which means that it is no longer a network manager, and has become more like the office junior/filing assistant. When you combine this with the fact that the Mac Mini tech is now getting fairly old, with it not having been updated since late 2014, plus that it’s missing important items such as Thunderbolt 3, and it becomes clear that the functionality has reduced to the point of being almost useless. Which, let’s face it, is not a great deal of use to most businesses! read more

As soon as they can find their way around a keyboard children are ready to use apps, so why not make them educational? If they love using a tablet then make their screen time productive by getting them learning whilst they play. Primary schools are now realising that this is a wonderful way to keep children occupied whilst making use of easy-to-use apps.

But with so many on the market, how do you decide which the best apps are for Primary Schools? Well we have done some of the research for you so take a look at our guide below and get those children apping and tapping! read more

We’ll be exhibiting at the Broadcast Video Exhibition, aka BVE, again this year, making it our 7th visit. This year the show runs from the 27th of February to 1st March at Excel London and we’ll be there demonstrating how our flexible leases can benefit the broadcast business.

Visit our stand – R29

We look forward to BVE each year because we get to experience the latest technology hands on, as well as meeting our existing and potential new clients. With around 300 companies attending there will be lots to see with businesses showcasing their products whilst an extensive program of free seminars featuring more than 200 speakers and over 100 sessions across the 3 days. We’ll be on the same stand as last year – R29 – so come along and meet some of the HardSoft team who will be there explaining how our leasing can benefit those in fast-moving tech heavy industry. You’ll find that leasing turns the un-affordable into something very affordable indeed. read more

Asus’s partnership with High Performance Computer manufacturer Strongbox has resulted in the creation of the world’s fastest PC workstation.  With outstanding graphics rendering, this makes it perfect for VR development use.  As they are keen to point out, their system has so far broken all records, taking over the OctaneBench top position with the highest score of 1620.82, all powered by less than eight ASUS GeForce GTX 1080 Tis in an eight-way SLI configuration.

Strongbox’s graphic rendering power – perfect for VR development

As Strongboxes technical director, Brian Gannon, points out “Our computers are demonstrably faster than our competitors like HP. I would say Dell are now pretty much out of the running. HP are still making excellent systems and are very well built but the fact is they are going down the XEON route because that’s what the industry recommends, which isn’t necessarily correct. Because they are going down the XEON route and they are clocked so much lower it means that our machines especially our i7X machine absolutely pummels it in to the ground. Especially with video editing, VFX and grading.” read more

The debate rages on and the same question is asked: “Should we use iPads in Schools?” With so many varying opinions, we take a look at the issue in detail, asking are they just a passing craze or can they really help children to learn in a new and exciting way?

Using iPads is Second Nature to School Children Today

Check out the advantages

Whether you are a parent or a teacher, you need to at least consider the question as not doing so could mean that your children are failing to benefit in ways that they should. Many teachers that already use iPads take the view that they are a great asset to the classroom, enabling them to support and add to lessons rather than detract. Let’s look at some of the reasons why many rate them so highly: read more

Apart from a small car or a dream holiday… The iMac Pro is here with a starting price of £4899 configurable into the £13000 mark… apart from a small car or a great holiday could there be computing alternatives.So what alternatives are there to the iMac Pro, and does it represent good value.

iMac Pro or Luxury Holiday?

The first issue you will have to face is that you will need to jump ship from Apple and into a PC and Windows 10 operating system. If you’ve spent your entire life using Apple’s iOS, this is probably the thing that scares you most about making the move to Windows. But what’s it actually like using Windows? Current PCs aren’t what they were, in fact Microsoft hasn’t just caught up with Apple, in many ways they’re leading the pack. read more

Hold onto your hats, the world is coming to an end!

On May 25th 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will take effect, and the world as we know it will end!

The implementation of the GDPR is going to have effects in every corner of the digital world. There will be marketing teams around the world with a mountain of consumer data that has been gathered in all sorts of ways and they will be being held to account for any dodgy practices they have used in the past

There’s a data revolution coming and it’s here to put a stop to all those spam emails and super annoying social media ad campaigns that besiege us every day at the behest of the army of digital marketers across the globe. read more

When it comes to the education sector, most schools have been using Apple’s Macbooks and iPads which work really well for them. However, the release of Microsoft’s Surface range means that there is now a great alternative to those iPads and Macbooks.

A study conducted by FutureSource found that Apple iOS and MacOS devices are in decline, particularly in the USA, and are not necessarily the primary tools of those in the education system. They found that outside of the US, Microsoft is still a leader in the market read more

There have been issues with some older Apple computers not supporting VR game development and users finding it difficult to work out which are compatible and which are not.  But that will not be the case for much longer as things are changing for the good with the introduction of Apple’s new High Sierra OS.

Addition of metal 2 API + eGPU

As we already know, within the High Sierra update there is already an improved version of Apple’s Metal graphics API and this, together with the eGPU Development Kit, enables developers to continue on their journey of creating apps with full VR content. read more

The release of Apple’s new operating system, High Sierra, has seen a whole host of additions and improvements aimed at VR developers. Join us as we delve in and take a look at them in more depth!

Metal 2 API – what it is and what it does

Included in the High Sierra update and apparently at least ten times faster than the previous version, this is an increased form of Apple’s Metal graphics API, enabling VR developers to sidestep the macOS system and go directly to a VR headset; even using only a MacBook there will be sufficient GPU function to utilize the VR and SteamVR, the HTC Vive, Unreal Engine 4 and Unity will also work with a Mac. read more

So you’ve got a new start business and you want to lease your IT equipment. What do you need to do, and how does it work? If you are a new business you are probably well aware of how difficult it is to establish a credit history, as well as how traditional financing methods such as banks can be difficult to deal with. HardSoft can provide from £1,000 to £15,000 of lease finance to new businesses, which can include both hardware and software.

Here we explain our simple application process for new start businesses:

1. The first step is to establish whether you are a homeowner.
2. If you are a homeowner, we will ask you for bank statements (either business or personal) in order to assess your ability to meet the lease repayments. If you are not a homeowner, we will ask you to provide a guarantor, such as a director, shareholder, or relative.
   • Unfortunately, if you’re unable to provide a guarantor we won’t be able to proceed with your lease application.
3. Once you have provided your bank statements, we will review them to prove you can cover payments.
   • A Limited Director’s Indemnity may be requested if you have set up a new Limited Company.
   • If we cannot be satisfied that you would be able to make the repayments on your lease we will not be able to proceed with your application.
4. If you are looking for an amount in excess of £10k we will request to see your business plan or proof that you have external investment in your business.
   • Once we have seen either your business plan or proof of external investment we will complete your application and proceed with any credit searches.
5. If you are requesting less that £10k we will complete your application and proceed with any credit searches.

The first payment will be equivalent to one month’s payment, which can be paid by debit or credit card. Occasionally we may require the lease to be over 24 months (rather than 36) and a deposit of three months maybe requested should the ability to repay be difficult to assess. read more

Dell XPS 13 is first with i7-8550

Intel announced their new 7th Gen Kaby Lake processors just last year but, in the blink of an eye, in August they announced their new 8th Gen CPUs. Designed specifically for the premium ranges of thin and light notebooks and 2-in-1s, according to Intel these new 8th-gen processors will keep the Kaby Lake name and be referred to as Kaby Lake R (‘R’ for refresh) with Coffee Lake and Cannon Lake processors coming later.

One of the major selling points for these new 8th Generation series CPUs is that they are twice as fast as the ones you’d find in a five year old laptop. There have been vast improvements in performance over the past five years across not only laptops but in desktops and tables too. Intel claims that there will be up to 40% improvement over their current 7th Generation Core i-series CPUs, which have only just been rolled out by many makers of PCs. read more

We know our customers and blog readers are pretty savvy when it comes to technology, but just in case you were wondering NAS stands for Network Attached Storage.

In recent years we’ve all been storing more and more information in ‘the cloud’, entrusting some of the most important things in our lives to third party companies who we hope are trustworthy. We obviously don’t want to return to the days of saving everything onto those temperamental floppy disks, but local Network Attached Storage (NAS) is available and there may be more reasons to start using it than you’d think. read more

The last time we heard the phrase “Windows for Workstations” was back in the 90s when Windows NT Workstation 4.0 was launched in 1996. In fact, if you asked some of the younger people in your office what Windows NT was, they will probably look at you blankly or think it’s the name of a new version of the windows operating system, and actually they wouldn’t be wrong!

Windows NT Workstation 4.0

Windows NT Workstation was released as a more robust version of Windows ’95 for businesses who use high-end hardware. The workstations label disappeared as Microsoft names it’s operating systems Home, Server, Pro, and Enterprise etc. Then, in June this year, more than 20 years on, Microsoft announced it was resurrecting Windows for Workstations with Windows 10 Pro for Workstations scheduled for launch any time now. read more

The latest Apple update hit our systems last month and there was the usual frenzy of people trying to download it to their iPhones. But was it worth the wait? What do you think? Pretty much all of the HardSoft team are Apple users and they’ve all now downloaded iOS 11, so we asked them what they thought about this latest update.

New Customisable Control Centre

The new control centre is full of widgets that you can access simply by swiping up from the bottom of your screen. The control centre has had a redesign allowing you to fit more on the screen and you can change what you have on it. You can increase/decrease the brightness, select the camera and choose whether to take a selfie or a forward facing photo, turn your wifi and bluetooth on and off, and add whatever you want. read more

Does your Apple Mac seem to be running slow?  They can run slowly for no apparent reason but there is usually some cause as to why your Mac is running below par, so if you think your Mac would lose against a blindfolded snail in a race to launch an app, then read on for our tips on how to tackle the most commons speed issues.

Software Update Loading

It doesn’t really make any difference whether you have a brand spanking new Mac which updates via the App Store, or an older version which goes via Software Update, either way it can cause your Mac to slow down temporarily whilst it launches in the background. You’ll know this is happening because after a minute or so, a Software Update notification will pop up. read more

As an Apple Authorised Seller we are able to centrally register the Macs and iPads we lease to customers with Apple, which helps them with the management of their assets. Apple’s Device Enrolment Programme (DEP) an efficient way to deploy Macs, iPads and other iOS devices which you have leased across a business or school. The DEP allows you to choose to supervise from a distance any iOS devices owned by your business but used by your staff, whether they’re office based or work remotely. This higher level of management allows you to add restrictions, such as turning off Game Center and iMessage and blocking certain apps from the device. With the Device Enrollment Program, large-scale deployments of iPad and Mac are seamless. Your devices are configured through a management solution, and users are guided through the activation process with the built-in Setup Assistant. You can streamline setup by specifying that certain steps in Setup Assistant be skipped — such as screens for Apple ID, passcode, or terms of service. read more

While modern portable systems pack a nice punch and feature high-end graphics solutions sometimes it’s just not enough, as Apple users know only too well. That’s where external graphics cards come into play and for all the creatives out there something exciting is happening – Sonnet has announced the release of their eGFX Breakaway Box! The eGFX Breakaway Box supports any Thunderbolt compatible PCIe card, with 40 Gbps of bandwidth and a full PCIe 3.0 x16 slot, there’s plenty of power to share giving you the flexibility to add whatever you want to boost your capability without any degradation of speed – which was an issue for the previous Sonnet box. read more

If you are considering buying IT equipment, such as tablets or laptops, for your school, you’ll be looking for the best deal for your funds. You may be surprised to learn that leasing is actually cheaper than buying and there are more advantages to leasing too. Such as:

• It frees up your capital – when you lease your IT you don’t have to use your capital funds as a lump sum to purchase them, or upgrading at a later date. Being able to spread the cost enables you to use your funds elsewhere and payments can be deferred to suit your needs.
• It comes with technical support – you will have access to our technical support team throughout the period of your lease. Our technicians are trained to an extremely high standard with expert authorisation and knowledge on both Apple and PC platforms. We are available to assist you with synchronising and maintaining your devices from the moment they are delivered.
• Free training is available – if you or your staff require training on your Apple iPads or laptops, or need some advice on the best apps to use in education, one of our qualified trainers will come to your school and deliver a program of training – FREE of charge – which will be tailored to your needs. This can cover iPad basics, right through to specifics of education related apps, Once your trainer has visited you, they will continue to work closely with you in order to ensure your iPads are fully utilised in the classrooms.
• Accidental Damage Insurance – each lease to a school has specialist comprehensive insurance cover. This means that any Apple iPad or Windows device you have which is accidentally damaged, will be fixed or replaced at no cost to your school. It costs around £150 to repair the screen of an iPad which has been dropped, but with our insurance you are covered and will NO excess to pay.
• You get a full 3 year warranty as standard – all Apple iPads that you lease will come with a 3 year warranty so that you’re covered. Should you have an issue with an iPad, we will swap it for a replacement to ensure you have the minimum of down time at no additional cost to your budget.
• Renewal and Upgrade at the end of lease – at the end of our normal 3 year lease term we will provide you with the option to return the iPads you have and cancel the original lease, provided that you take out a new lease on the latest iPads. You can keep the original iPads if you choose to do so, however there is a small fee payable in order to do this.

Here at HardSoft we offer operating leases to schools which are recommended by the Department for Education. When you choose to lease from HardSoft you will be benefiting from the experience an expertise of an IT company with 30 years of trading and dealing in finance. read more

If you’re limited on space, using your MacBook Pro in closed-clamshell mode can be a great way to save space and optimise productivity.

However, if you use your MacBook Pro in the closed-clamshell mode, which allows you to drive the external display while the MacBook is closed, you may find that losing the use of your Touch Bar is something of an irritation!

However, this can be overcome by using your iPad as an external Touch Bar via the Duet Display app.

Designed by ex-Apple engineers, Duet Display is an app for iPhone and iPad, which can be used with an iOS device as an external display. Thanks to an update issued in 2016, Duet can also allow you to use your iPad or iPhone as a Touch Bar. This offers the perfect solution for anyone using an older Mac that doesn’t have the Touch Bar feature, or the latest model MacBook Pro in closed-clamshell mode. read more

Apple have recently started offering 0% finance on their products via PayPal Credit , but are they really offering a good deal?

Look at the Figures

Apple offer an iMac at £2019.00 on 12 months interest free credit, with a £0.00 deposit, which looks attractive at first glance, but there is no warranty with that and the repayments are £181.26 per month – don’t forget you have to pay the full amount back within the 12 month period, otherwise you’re hit with the interest at 14.9% APR.

Alternatively, if you take a look at the HardSoft lease on the same iMac at £2019.00 over a 12 month period, the difference is we ask you for a deposit of £403.80, but with repayments of £134.60 you’re left with almost £50.00 more in hand each month. Combine that with the 3 year HardSoft warranty and you’re quids in! read more

Microsoft have unveiled the new addition to their Surface family – the Surface Laptop. Released this month, it’s the first laptop with integrated keyboard in their Surface range, so we thought we’d tell you a little more about it.

Similar in size to the Surface Book, it features the same 13.5” PixelSense touchscreen display with 3:2 aspect ratio and will be the first device to run on Windows 10 S. Microsoft have said that the S doesn’t actually stand for anything, but they do say that Windows 10 S is streamlined for simplicity, security and speed, so we guess that’s where it came from! With a boot time 15 seconds faster than a comparable machine running Windows 10 Pro and with the same profile and apps installed, they also claim that it will run as fast on day 1,000 as it does on day one. read more

We all know just how quickly technology moves on. In this day and age children are always looking for the next video game console or smartphone (and let’s be honest, most of us adults are too), but as soon as you buy one Xbox or iPhone a new and improved version is announced. And then it’s on to the next thing. It can certainly be hard to keep up.

It sure can be expensive, too. In the same way that a new car depreciates in value as soon as you drive it off the lot, the truth is that technological equipment suffers the same fate. It’s expensive enough to buy new, but when you factor in that you’ll probably have to buy the next ‘thing’ soon after, while getting nowhere near what you paid for it if you try and sell, then bank balances are bound to be stretched to near breaking point. read more

Security is understandably the number one concern for any business, and the stats show that it’s not unfounded. With the risk of a device becoming infected increasing at an average rate of 40% each year, security has never been more important and HP knows this. Their premium range not only looks great, it also offers a deep level of security that gives you more than just protection for your hardware, but for your data and identity too.

For some reason HP don’t shout very loudly about the great security features they offer. We love them, so thought we’d do some shouting for them and summarise the best ones for you here. read more

Apple Mac vs PC. It’s a debate that’s been going on for decades, and one that intensified with the launch of Microsoft’s Surface Studio in the UK in May 2017.

It goes without saying that both the iMac Pro and the Surface Studio are high-end, high-performance devices, mainly targeting creative and media professionals. However, there are a vast number of differences between the two.

Let’s take a closer look at the two devices…

Design

The 28” Surface Studio differs from the iMac in terms of its design. The Surface has an intuitive hinge on the back of the touchscreen – an incredible feat of engineering that Microsoft have named the Zero Gravity Hinge. This allows for almost effortless repositioning from an upright panel to a nearly flat worktop, which is particularly useful for illustration. read more