systems

Working remotely – WFH

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[18/05/2020 > updated with link to flexible work arrangement post] The main challenge of working remotely or working from home in Architecture is the combination of large file sizes and slow or intermittent internet connections. We find that the following approach typically works best:   INTERNET CONNECTIONS Ideally staff have at least an NBN connection. … Read more

Hardware recommendations

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[12/03/2024 > updated with Samsung M8 Display option] We’re often asked which Apple Hardware we recommend for Architects – so here is our shortlist: [asideguide type=”note”]Apple has discontinued the ageing (yet powerful) intel based 27-inch iMac – at this stage it is unlikely they will bring this model back into their line-up. The new M1 … Read more

Identifying malicious email

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[22/06/2020 > updated with best cybersecurity practices]   Best practice approach to cybersecurity Since any defence mechanism is only as strong as its weakest link (typically the human involved), we recommend everyone to follow the below principles: DO NOT click on links or download attachments from people: – you DO NOT know and/or – you are … Read more

BEACON and RADAR

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Why we use BEACON and RADAR. Your computers are the backbone of your work, to ensure they are operating at their peak BEACON monitors your Macs and let’s us know if something is wrong. “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” In addition to BEACON we have created RADAR to provide you with rigorous pro-active support and to save you … Read more

Google accounts and Contacts

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The contact management in normal Google and Google Apps accounts is somewhat painful as it does not necessarily work as expected – tips on how to get it working are e.g. available on lifehacker.com. If you use OSX & iOS and have ever suffered from disappearing contacts, here is what you can do: 1. login … Read more

snow leopard improvements

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now that we have been able to dive right into snow leopard, here a brief overview of what we like most… event editing in ical… much easier than before, thanks to: ical > edit > show inspector expose all windows grid (sort ‘command+1’ alphabetically, ‘command+2’ by application) minimise windows into dock icon (system preferences > … Read more

snow leopard incompatibilities

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apple has posted a list of known incompatible software, which snow leopard will not allow you to run here. some rather prominent omissions from this list are… ‘1password‘, which does not work with safari 4… however it seems to work with firefox 3.5.2; vectorworks 11.5.2 & 12.5.3 & 2008 sp3 & 2009 sp4… apparently an … Read more

snow leopard installation

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at last snow leopard is out and we have a copy to play with – here some links, we found useful: before you do anything follow john gruber’s reflection on murphy’s law here. a more detailed review of the installation process and its requirements here.