Welcome to B&D System Engineers Easter newsletter. We would like to keep you up to date with the latest IT developments and trust you will enjoy reading this newsletter.

• Notebooks and Desktop PCs

Lenovo looks to make its mark

 Lenovo (the 3rd largest PC company in the world) is a Chinese manufacture that took over IBM's computer business last year and already enjoys a 35,5% notebook market share. Lenovo is ready to take on the South African desktop and notebook market.

Against stiff competition, Lenovo will be working on gaining the top spot in the local PC market. The company will also continue to produce and market IBM's popular ThinkPad notebook PC into the corporate market segment that values the high levels of functionality and reliability offered by the range.

Lenovo has also launched its own, Lenovo-branded, notebook range which will address the more cost- conscious business and consumer markets.

The company launched the Lenovo 3000 product family, featuring several new desktop and notebook models with the latest processor technologies. The Lenovo 3000 product line features built-in tools, such as virus recovery, simplified network connectivity and automatic updates, designed to help small business owners concentrate on their businesses.

Rashid Wally, country GM: South Central Africa for Lenovo said: " The new Lenovo 3000 product family embodies a distinct entrepreneurial persona by combining the most successful components of enterprise-level, ThinkPad-inspired technologies with the latest Lenovo innovations to create PCs users can depend on. "

The Lenovo 3000 PCs feature a suite of easy-to-use Lenovo care productivity tools that help make owning and operating a PC a worry-free experience for small business and individual users. With Lenovo Care tools, PC maintenance and service guess work is replaced by powerful autonomic tools to help make PCs more self reliant.

In addition, Lenovo Care tools can help users streamline maintenance tasks to keep PCs running like new. The new Lenovo C series of notebook PCs and the Lenovo J series of desktop PCs, both of which complement the ThinkPad and the ThinkCentre brands.

Read more on Lenovo

Press release: Lenovo Unveils New Business Partner Programme

Products

Security overview

Competition!!!!

New from B&D System Engineers... Our news letter that is going out once every month with some of the newest and interesting technology, to keep you up to date. If you reply on this news letter, you might stand a change to win a number of prizes. Al you have to do is to reply on this email or by clicking on the link. <Reply on this newsletter >

• New releases

Microsoft is releasing the new Microsoft Office 2007.

Microsoft announced the upcoming 2007 Microsoft® Office system products, previously code-named Microsoft Office “12,” including new and improved suites, applications, servers and services to be available by the end of 2006. The 2007 release is designed to increase individual impact, simplify collaboration, streamline business processes and content management, and improve business insight. The product and packaging lineup is grounded in a deep understanding of how customers’ needs intersect with trends in the workplace. Microsoft will make available both enhanced and new packaging options to make it easier for customers to purchase the solutions that best meet their unique business needs.

When planning the release of the 2007 Microsoft Office system, formerly code-named Office "12", they took on the challenge of making the core Microsoft Office applications easier to work with. Taking into account extensive usability data and recent advancements in hardware and software, the team has delivered the most significant update to the Microsoft Office user interface in more than a decade. The result of these efforts is a user interface that makes it easier for people to get more out of Microsoft Office applications so they can deliver better results faster.

Microsoft Office Word 2007, Office Excel 2007, Office PowerPoint 2007, and Office Access 2007 will feature a streamlined, uncluttered workspace that minimizes distraction and enables people to achieve the results they want more quickly and easily

Coming next month, more on the types of office packages that Microsoft scheduled for releasing.

• Notebooks

Acer Notebooks with Intel Centrino Duo Mobile Technology

While there is only a small growth in the desktop PC market, the notebook market is growing at an incredible rate, and it seems like Acer is pushing the mobile envelope with the release of their latest range of notebooks. It's the first to include Intel's Centrino Duo Mobile Technology - Intel's first mobile dual-core processor, and, like the name says, it makes use of two cores instead of one.

Duo Mobile Technology promises greater performance and will make it easier for users to run two or more high intensity programs at the same time. You're also looking at better battery life and extended wireless connectivity.

Apart from the Duo Mobile Technology two other features attracted our attention. Firstly Acer's Empowering Technology that gives you one-button access to a range of functions such as battery management, encryption, back-ups and performance options.

Secondly, some of the notebooks come with a built in alarm that works with GraviSense Technology that senses when the notebook is moved. A heaven sent for security conscious South Africans.

Read more on this Intel Centrino Duo Mobile Technology

• Data storage

New Pocket Hard Drives

These palm-sized drives with large capacity (5.0GB) can fit in your pocket, yet they safely store large business files, music, photos, videos and more. Users with Windows can even put password protection on their files.

Advantages:

• Sleek round shell absorbs shocks, so you never have to worry about your data.
• Powered by your computer, so you don't need a power supply.
• Built-in, retractable cable – SEE PICTURE
• Hot-pluggable USB 2.0 interface enables data transfer up to 480 Mbps.
• 3600-RPM drives with 2-Mbyte cache consistently deliver the high performance you need.
• Worry-free one-year warranty, plus free technical advice even after your warranty ends.
• Complete with quick connect guide and utilities CD.

Don't forget to reply on the link for the competition....