How to Recycle IT Equipment
Posted by admin in Hard Drive, Technology on February 12, 2011
By Jamie Simpson
With the constant changes in technology, it’s important to properly dispose of electronics that have been replaced. Tossing them into the garbage isn’t the way, and in many places can actually get you a fee from the authorities. Some states have even created laws against disposing of electronic waste in landfills. Don’t worry, though – with so many companies working to take better care of the environment, disposing of obsolete IT equipment is easier than it was just a few years ago.
Wipe Your Electronics’ Memories
Most technology now offers a great deal of personalization for its users. We put our personal information all over computers other digital equipment. Before recycling a piece of equipment, be sure that you’ve wiped its memory. Make sure you have gotten rid of any credit card and bank information, names and addresses, and so on. It can be difficult to get to all of this by simply sitting down in front of a computer and hitting the delete key. There are plenty of programs out there that can do it for you, if you want to be completely sure, and some places have facilities specifically for hard drive disposal
Don’t Destroy Your Equipment
While it might seem like great stress relief to tear the electronics that are giving you day-to-day problems to pieces, it’s a bad idea. The glass, metal, and plastics in them are not biodegradable and need to be taken care of properly. Many electronics also contain hazardous materials such as mercury, cadmium, and the lead in old CRT monitors.
Where to Recycle
Almost every major electronics manufacturer and retailer now has a recycling program where you can bring in your old equipment and have it recycled at no cost to you. Some also give discounts or store credit when you bring something in for recycling. Get in contact with the store or brand name manufacturer of your IT equipment and make sure they accept electronics for recycling before searching out an independent recycler. Read the rest of this entry »
How To Choose The Right Server For Your Business
Posted by admin in Hardware, News, Technology on February 9, 2011
By Ben Stuart Greenwood
Businesses, if they are doing well, will eventually expand to the point where a small group of networked computers will no longer be enough to handle all the data you have or provide the customer service levels your clients have come to expect. It is at this point centralising data on to one server, accessible by everyone at varying levels, needs to be considered – but which server and which software running on it should a business choose?
A server will basically act as a database for all the data a company has, from address books through stock levels to sales records and a whole lot more. For growing companies this can amount to a lot of data, therefore choosing the right server is important. It has to be big enough to handle the amount of data now and in the future and it has to be fast enough to serve that data to users when it is required.
It is also important to run the right server software to handle the requests put upon it and to be able to do what is required in the future as the business itself evolves – this will reduce ongoing IT maintenance costs.
There are several types of server available and different kinds of software too. For hardware, a small server which is only slightly more powerful than a desktop computer may be enough, depending on the size of the business. However, for larger or faster growing companies that require an application server it will have to be more powerful. A server with large amounts of RAM and hard disk space would be better, with a multi-core for handling lots of requests rapidly. For the largest of companies running an intranet, the most expensive servers will be needed, with lots of processors, RAM and hard disk space. Read the rest of this entry »