Say No To VAT

NO VAT HIKEAs you all probably know, the government decided that a 21% Value Added Tax wasn’t quite high enough.  Starting January 1st, now the Irish Public pays a whopping 23% VAT on most everything they buy. At Sound Computers we have decided to go the other direction. We have decided, not only to absorb the cost of the VAT hike, we are building in a 2% VAT decrease. At the end of the day the VAT man still get his rightful 23%, but we are charging only 19% to the customer and taking the additional 4% from our profits.

We are doing this to take a stand. It doesn’t seem fair that small business everywhere are forced to raise their prices all the time to make the same profit. Hopefully this will make the customer conscious of their spending and how much of it the little guy in the shop actually makes.  Good Luck in 2012 everyone!

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New Contest!

Coming tomorrow! 1st December. Check FB wall for details!

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MyJob.ie gets Hacked

Any of my followers that use or have used MyJob.ie, please read this excerpt from the Irish Times and please login and change your password, just in case.

 

 

 

ELAINE EDWARDS

THE JOBS website Myjob.ie, which allows people to upload their CVs online, has been the subject of a security breach.

The company has written to users to inform them of a “recent” security breach on its servers, which it says was quickly identified.

The breach did not come to the attention of the Data Protection Commissioner until yesterday, even though the company said two people had already been arrested.

In an e-mail to users whose personal data was potentially compromised, company director John Doupe said the two people were the subject of a file being prepared for the DPP.

“Although Myjob.ie was not the primary source of the breach . . . we would ask all users to immediately change their password,” wrote Mr Doupe. He asked users not to use the same password for more than one internet service and apologised for “any inconvenience or distress caused by this precautionary e-mail”.

It is understood gardaí contacted Myjob.ie on foot of material found on computers seized in raids in Galway and Offaly on September 1st. Two teens were arrested by gardaí investigating a cyber attack on the Fine Gael website. The two were subsequently released without charge.

Information security consultant Brian Honan, who was notified about the breach as a registered user of the site, questioned the company’s data retention policy. Mr Honan said he had not used the website for “well over 10 years”, so the data held would be “well out of date and no longer useful. The attackers have already been arrested and a file sent to the DPP. If this is the case, when did the breach originally occur and why did it take so long to notify those impacted?”

The commissioner says incidences of personal data being put at risk should be reported to his office within two working days.

The website is the online recruitment arm of Bond Personnel. It has offices in Malahide, Co Dublin and Athlone, Co Westmeath.

This is an article from the Irish Times, I do not own rights to it, I just thought people should know.

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For Lunch Today

Walking through Sligo town on lunch break today. I decided to go in to Subway at the Taxi Rank.  Inside there were 2 students from a local school waiting in line. They had each ordered a foot-long sandwich. They asked if I was getting a foot-long as well. I said, “yes.” and we collectively got our subs together at the 3 foot-long subs for €15 deal. This was great for them, because they each had a fiver. Great for me, because my sub was only a fiver as well. THEN, I put the 3 subs on my Subway points card, so I could earn free food later. After the transaction, the Subway girl told me that I had earned a free foot-long with the points I had acquired! Awesome! The two guys were cool, and one jokingly mentioned he’d add me on Facebook. I took the opportunity to hand them each a business card, and told them they should “Like” the Sound Computers Fan Page. One of the students said, “Whoa, my computer just broke too!” It really felt like fate. And to think, I was going to go to 4 Lanterns…

Thanks for reading.

¬Mickey

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Facebook Data for Ireland 2011

This is an amazing info-graphic that that shows the number of FB users in Ireland. Average ages, where they are located, and the most popular brands they “Like” Check it out!

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Sony 3D OLED Head Mounted Display

This is an excerpt from CNET.com I wanted to share it because I think it pretty much rocks!

Sony is returning to its innovative roots with the introduction of a head-mounted display that simulates a 62.5-foot screen.

The Personal 3D Viewer, or HMZ-T1, is billed by Sony as the “world’s first 3D compatible head-mounted display equipped with a HD OLED panel.” Capable of 2D and 3D content, this headset is reminiscent of Glasstron, a similarly designed Sony headpiece (with LCD screens inside) from 1997.

Miles ahead of the predecessor, the HMZ-T1 could be that wow-factor Sony has been trying to hit the market with for years.

The company had trotted out a prototype back in January at CES 2011 but officially announced the product yesterday in Tokyo. It’s set for a November 11 release in Japan with a price tag of 59,800 yen, or $781.

Is this the future of personal entertainment?

(Credit: Sony)

Within the headset are two 0.7-inch OLED displays (720p/2.8 million pixels) that have all the features of an expensive high-resolution panel in a small form factor. Within, the optical lens projects a 45-degree horizontal viewing angle to the user with a “virtual viewing distance up to 65 feet.”

The best part of all this is that this is not another Sony product crippled with proprietary nonsense. The HMZ-T1 uses a normal HDMI connection, meaning it works with a game console, cable box, Blu-ray player, video card, etc. It can even control connected devices through the HDMI CEC function (including play, pause, FF, rewind, previous, next, etc.). A secondary processor unit is necessary to handle the HDMI in/out pass-through to the headset, as seen below.

The processor unit allows you to connect any HDMI device to the HMZ-T1.
(Credit: Sony)

Headphones are built alongside the optics, capable of 5.1 channel virtual surround sound with 4 modes, including Standard, Cinema, Game, and Music.

Pretty cool device. I think it will turn a lot of heads :) Pun intended.

Thank for Reading!

¬Mickey

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Inside the August Google Algorithm Update

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Sneak Preview Windows 8

Here is a video that shows a preview of the newest addition to the Microsoft family. Windows “8″ Designed for all the newest hardware and touch screen devices. Great new features and a cool new look.

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Site Re-Design

/*SITE RE-LAUNCH*/

Hello readers and friends! We have completed the redesign of the site http://www.soundcomputers.ie/ We have added a great download page for software, Free Icon Sets, a Knowledgebase full of articles, written by Us to help explain the world of computing to you in real-world terms, and loads more. Please spend a little time checking it out and report any bugs you find to me via PM.

Please re-post this on your Facebook walls, “Like” it, and send to Twitter and any other service you use! Thank you all for your help and dedication while we strive to become the best Computer repair, Data recovery and Web Development facility in Sligo! Cheers!

and thanks for reading!

¬Mickey

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You Choose the Contest!

See the details over on the FB wall, http://www.facebook.com/SoundComputers We are running a new contest, you choose how it goes. What would you like to see? Do you want see a photo puzzle contest? Maybe a raffle or giveaway? Do you want to guess the jelly beans in the jar? It s up to you! the prize will be Super Cool! Check it out and don’t forget to vote!

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