Posted by stuart.gilbertson

Apple CEO Steve Jobs has announced he will go on medical leave from his position. Jobs had surgery in 2004 for pancreatic cancer, which medical experts have said explains the liver transplant.

“My family and I would deeply appreciate respect for our privacy,” said Jobs.

He did not reveal specifics about why he had been given time off.

“At my request, the board of directors has granted me a medical leave of absence so I can focus on my health. I will continue as CEO and be involved in major strategic decisions for the company,” he told employees.

Apple stock fell about 6% trading Monday following the news. Investors will have to digest the news about the chief executive as well as the latest earnings for the Christmas season. If this turns out to be a temporary leave of absence, for comparatively minor medical reasons, then this shouldn’t have much effect on your shares. But if the absence is longer and the problem more severe, who knows what will happen to Apple!

Steve’s email in full is as follows:

Team,

At my request, the board of directors has granted me a medical leave of absence so I can focus on my health. I will continue as CEO and be involved in major strategic decisions for the company.

I have asked Tim Cook to be responsible for all of Apple’s day to day operations. I have great confidence that Tim and the rest of the executive management team will do a terrific job executing the exciting plans we have in place for 2011.

I love Apple so much and hope to be back as soon as I can. In the meantime, my family and I would deeply appreciate respect for our privacy.

Steve

Sources:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703396604576088143564482196.html

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/01/17/steve_jobs_medical_leave_apple/

http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2011/01/18/244943/Steve-Jobs-takes-medical-leave-from-Apple.htm

Google has updated the SLA for its Google Apps suite so that they no longer make excuses for scheduled maintenance. Meaning that ANY dwntime, no matter how little, will be recognised as downtime and applied to the agreement with the customer.

At present, when Google alert users to “Scheduled Downtime”, this downtime is not covered under the SLA and the end-user has no retribution via the SLA for a refund.

Google have now fine-tuned their highly-distributed infrastructure so that servers can be taken offline one-at a time or in multiples and the end-user wont notice. This is nothing new however, Google have been able to do this for a while now, but have never included this kind of interruption as part of their SLA.

Now, should a service be made unavailable at Google’s end as a result of this downtime, the end-user is well within their rights to demand compensation under their SLA.

In 2010, the company says, Gmail was available to business users and consumers over 99.9 per cent of the time. This equated to about seven minutes of downtime per month. During that period, there was no scheduled downtime for end users.

Microsoft are currently rolling out a competing cloud-based product, Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS), which is intended to bring the Office suite onto the web with phenomenal new features and services. As avid Google Apps users, we’ve just started trialling the BPOS service from Microsoft and will post an update with our findings in due course.

It was revealed in a recent study today that almost one in ten children are actually ‘addicted’ to their video games. The study showed that greater amounts of gaming, lower social competence, and greater impulsivity seemed to act as risk factors for becoming pathological gamers, whereas depression, anxiety, social phobias, and lower school performance seemed to act as outcomes of pathological gaming.

The study adds important information to the discussion about whether video game “addiction” is similar to other addictive behaviors, demonstrating that it can last for years and is not solely a symptom of comorbid disorders. (Study: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/peds.2010-1353v1 )

In the 2-year study of more than 3,000 school children in Singapore, researchers found nearly one in ten were video game “addicts,” and most were stuck with the problem. (Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE70G15J20110117?pageNumber=1 )

Douglas Gentile, who runs the Media Research Lab at Iowa State University said: “When children became addicted, their depression, anxiety, and social phobias got worse, and their grades dropped,”

But an independent expert said the study had important flaws.

“My own research has shown that excessive video game play is not necessarily addictive play and that many video gamers can play for long periods without there being any negative detrimental effects,” said Mark Griffiths, director of the International Gaming Research Unit at Nottingham Trent University in the UK.

“If nine percent of children were genuinely addicted to video games there would be video game addiction clinics in every major city!” he said in an e-mail, adding that the concept is not currently an accepted diagnosis among psychiatrists and psychologists.

Part of the problem, Griffiths argued, is that the new work may be measuring preoccupation instead of addiction.

The computer age has brought many wonderful conveniences, but along with those conveniences come some unexpected issues. One of the biggest issues is having something terrible happen to your computer and losing everything. For those who live in Scotland one of the best moves they can make is to enter into an IT support contract Edinburgh style. This will give you the support you need if and when technology takes you for a run for your money. Knowing that your information is safe from harm is a big weight off your shoulders.

The unexpected is one of the biggest reasons that computer users of all calibres should have backups of all of their important files and programs. This will ensure that if something happened the person would be protected. They would be able to retrieve the important information that was on the computer even if the computer does not work at all. This is vital to keeping information safe for future use. Choosing to use a backup system is a smart business and personal move. This information can be backed up on a daily basis at regular intervals to ensure that you are saving the most current information. If you have an IT support contract Edinburgh IT professionals can help you set up a system that will work for your schedule.

Choosing to backup your important information and systems is one of the ways that an IT support contract Edinburgh style can give you the security you need in business and personal computing. There are a number of excellent backup systems to choose from when deciding how to back up your computer systems. Your options will be based on the size of the system you are backing up and how much information you want to backup as well as how often you intend to use the system.

When using a computer it is very important to remember that everything that you put in the computer is not necessarily tucked away safely. If anything were to happen it would take a miracle to get your information back if you didn’t have a backup system in place. This having been said, having an IT support contract Edinburgh IT professionals can offer you is one way to ensure that you have the protection behind you that you need to ensure that that your information is safe. This is one of the most effective means of protecting your information and your systems.

Protect Yourself During the Holidays

Christmas is the biggest selling season of the year for retailers no matter where you are located. This no longer only applies to brick and mortar shops, but extends to the online world of shopping as well. Something that all shoppers need to keep in mind in their search for the perfect gift is to keep their personal information safe from harm. One way for web surfers to do this is by looking for the Padlock on the website. This ensures that the information they are providing is being given to a retailer with a SSL Certificate. Many companies use IT support Edinburgh has to offer to supply this.

Knowing who you are purchasing from is another way to be sure you are shopping safe online during the holiday season. Contacting the retailer prior to making the purchase is a terrific way to make sure the company is for real and truly in business. You should have no problem finding contact information on the website. Even if you find contact information that says IT Support Edinburgh you should be able to contact a person. Additionally, you will want to be able to find an actual postal address for the company.

When making purchases online you can safeguard your personal information by using credit cards with your purchase and not your debit card. This will limit the personal information that the retailer has access to. Even if they have the best IT support Edinburgh has to offer they will not be able to access your bank account if you are using your credit card. Even if you are located in Edinburgh Castle itself, they will not be able to access your personal information. They will be limited to your credit card information which is typically safe guarded by the credit card companies.

Choosing to shop online for the holidays is something that many people are doing now. This means that there are a many needs from the IT support Edinburgh professionals can supply the many websites based in Scotland. They are able to supply retailers with safe venues for customers to shop on. This is of great comfort to many retailers who want to supply excellent product and services to their customers. Using caution when shopping online even during the rush of the holidays will ensure that you are not giving away important personal information that could damage your finances for years to come.

One thing that any of the companies for business IT support Edinburgh can offer will tell you is that it is important that you safeguard your work. This includes encryption of your important data and company information. This is the only way that you can be sure that the information your company holds dear will be safely tucked away. Keeping the information safe from prying eyes is the only way to ensure that your personal and financial information is held safely. It also will ensure that your competition does not get their hands on any information that can be damaging to your business.

Choosing the right company to represent your IT needs can be a challenge. Knowing what you need is the key to getting the right services. There are many questions to ask when looking for business IT support in Edinburgh. Taking some time to really assess your needs before starting the search will help you find exactly what you are looking for and will assist you in making the right decision in a timely manner. Take inventory of where your business is today in its computer needs and where you hope it will be in the near and use this information to discuss your needs with your potential IT help.

Good business IT support Edinburgh offer will understand fully the value of encryption in your files and will help you to perfect this task to keep your information as safe as possible. There are a number of options available in computer security and making the right choice can be a little overwhelming. An IT professional can help you to assess your current situation and see what your safety risks are for your computer systems. From this point your IT professional can help you to assess any potential future threats that may become an issue.

Taking time to talk with a business IT support in Edinburgh, whether you are based in Midlothian or in one of the Edinburgh villages, will open new doors for your computing world. You will be able to assess any potential dangers and keep from falling into any dangerous pits that may damage your business. IT help can be hired on a contract basis or on an adhoc basis depending on what your specific needs are and how often you feel you would like services from the IT personnel. Taking stock of your company needs and reviewing this information with your IT professional will help you to make these decisions.

Consider IT along with fellow friends, won the Forth One “Grant Stott’s Big Daft Pub Quiz”!

Leading at the start, and then looking as though all was lost, we eventually came in with an astounding 129 points to take the winners trophy!

Pictures of the fantastic night out are on our Facebook page: Consider IT Limited Facebook and on Forth One’s Gallery

We also filmed Grant announcing the winners, and we were as surprised as everyone else: DENSA win Grant Stott’s Pub Quiz!