Lithium-ion Batteries on Iphones

Rechargeable lithium-based technology currently provides the best performance for your Apple notebook computer, iPod, iPhone, or iPad. You can also find this standard battery technology in many other devices. Apple batteries share the characteristics common to lithium-based technology in other devices. Like other rechargeable batteries, these batteries may eventually require replacement.

Standard Technology
Lithium-ion polymer batteries have a high power density that gives you a long battery life in a light package. And you can recharge a lithium-ion polymer battery whenever convenient, without requiring a full charge or discharge cycle.

Standard Charging
Most lithium-ion polymer batteries use a fast charge to charge your device to 80% battery capacity, then switch to trickle charging. That’s about two hours of charge time to power an iPod to 80% capacity, then another two hours to fully charge it, if you are not using the iPod while charging. You can charge all lithium-ion batteries a large but finite number of times, as defined by charge cycle.

Charge Cycle. Using and recharging 100% of battery capacity equals one full charge cycle.
A charge cycle means using all the battery’’s power, but that doesn’’t necessarily mean a single charge. For instance, you could listen to your iPod for a few hours one day, using half its power, and then recharge it fully. If you did the same thing the next day, it would count as one charge cycle, not two, so you may take several days to complete a cycle. Each time you complete a charge cycle, it diminishes battery capacity slightly, but you can put notebook, iPod and iPhone batteries through many charge cycles before they will only hold 80 per cent of original battery capacity.

Battery Replacement and Disposal
Rechargeable batteries have a limited number of charge cycles and may eventually need to be replaced and disposed of. Products with built-in lithium-ion polymer batteries should be replaced only by Apple or an Apple authorised service provider. Apple and its authorised service providers will ensure the spent battery is recycled properly, since batteries should always be recycled or disposed of separately from household waste. Learn more about Apple’s battery replacement options

Once an Apple product reaches the end of its useful life, Apple will help you recycle it responsibly. Learn more about Apple’s recycling programme

How to Maximise Power Use
The length of time your battery will power your device depends on how you use it. For instance, watching a DVD will use up your notebook battery’s power more quickly than simple word processing. You can follow some easy steps to maximise your notebook, iPod, iPhone or iPad battery life.

Office 365 targets local small business

Uriel Rootshtain, Office lead at Microsoft SA. “This release unlocks new scenarios and delivers capabilities that far surpass anything available in browser-only solutions.”  A little over a month after unveiling Office and Office 365, Microsoft has released a new version of Office 365 for businesses, with features like SharePoint and Yammer.  Billed as Microsoft’s most complete Office cloud service to date, the release has new collaboration features, as well as offerings tailored to the needs and budgets of small, medium-sized and large organisations.

In addition to updated e-mail, video conferencing, instant messaging and calendaring services, business users can now get the Office applications they are familiar with on up to five devices, delivered as an always up-to-date cloud service.

New features in Office 365 include enhanced enterprise social capabilities with SharePoint and Yammer, and by June, it will include Lync-Skype connectivity for presence, IM and voice.

“With Office 365, everyone from large enterprises to small businesses to individual consumers can now benefit from the power of Office and the connectivity of the cloud,” said Uriel Rootshtain, Office lead at Microsoft South Africa. “This release unlocks new scenarios and delivers capabilities that far surpass anything available in browser-only solutions.”

Read More: http://www.itweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&catid=718&view=article&id=62084:Office-365-targets-local-small-business

Illegal software use costs SA firms R5mn

South African companies caught using pirated software spent more than R5 million in 2012 in settlement and legal fees, according to the Business Software Alliance (BSA).  The BSA is a trade body that represents the interests of the software industry. The BSA works with companies using a process of self-auditing to conduct investigations into whether or not they are using pirated software, says Warren Weertman, manager – legal affairs for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), BSA.

And the body says costs associated with these companies replacing unlicensed software jumped by R4.9 million last year – six times more than what was recorded in 2011.

South African law firm, Adams & Adams, helped the BSA in its investigation and the two organisations found that companies operating in the engineering, graphics and advertising sectors as the top offenders.

The BSA reported that the cost of engineering companies using unlicensed software was estimated at over R1.5 million followed by the graphics and advertising industries at respectively just over R700, 000 and R650, 000.

The costs comprise of settlement and legal fees that have to be paid by the company found to be using pirated software.

Chairman of the BSA South African committee, Drummond Simpson, said, “The results confirm that the use of unlicensed software continues to be a major challenge and many organisations are failing to capitalise on the benefits that a reduction in software piracy could bring.”

“Not only does the use of unlicensed software affect the economy of the country but it also makes the company vulnerable to viruses and other security risks as well as financial and reputational damage if caught,” he explained.

Mervin Miemoukanda research analyst for ICT at Frost & Sullivan told ITWeb Africa that unlicensed software accounts for 20% to 30% of the overall software market in South Africa, which makes the statistics from the BSA close to the reality.

“The number makes sense and it is mainly due to the sales of counterfeit PCs and mobile devices in the country,” he said.

He added, “These PCs and mobile devices are usually loaded with pirated software from Microsoft and other software vendors.”

Miemoukanda and the BSA agree that education is the key to ensuring that companies understand the far reaching implications of using pirated or unlicensed software.

“It is quite a huge task that government institutions and software companies should start educating students in universities and schools, in general the population to use licensed software,” he said.

“Yes, it’ll be very difficult to prevent people and small businesses from using unlicensed software, however education is key because as most people are not aware of adverse consequences of using unlicensed software,” he concluded.

According to the BSA across the EMEA region the use of pirated software cost businesses more than $16.5 million in 2012.