October 2007

In This Issue

· Welcome

· Mugshots

· An Easier Way to Shop

· Help Online

· Make A Wyse Choice

· That’s The Key!

· Geek Gadget

· How to Contact Us

· Unsubscribe Information

· Copyright, Disclaimer, Privacy Policy

Welcome

Welcome to our October 2007 edition of "Out of the Blue". It's aptly named as quite some time has elapsed since you would have received our "regular" newsletter. It's our intention to release a new edition each month from now on, covering a range of topics which we hope you will find useful. We will also let you know about any interesting developments at Blueprint Technologies Australia.

In this issue, we take an opportunity to re-introduce the team and bring you some news and tech tips along the way.

A lot of water has passed under the bridge over the past couple of years since our last newsletter. Blueprint has gone through a period of intense internal change, something akin to a “rebirth”. There could well have been times that you felt we’d lost touch with you during our prolonged introspection… and you could be right. But our new team is fired up with renewed purpose and a passion for providing professional, personalised and excellent service. It’s time to turn our focus on you… our loyal and valued customers.

In this edition

¥ We introduce our new team…yes, with pictures!

¥ We reluctantly announce the departure of Mr John Tran, and wish him well in his new endeavours.

¥ Tash has big news for online shoppers.

¥ I suggest checking out the Online Helpdesk

¥ Anya sees green with Wyse technology.

¥ Soren gives us a quick Tech Tip

¥ Nick gives you the geek update with his new favourite gadget.

Regards

Ron Llewellyn
Managing Director
Blueprint Technologies Australia

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Mugshots

By Ron

After major reshuffles, we’ve got a great team, with more on the way. Since we operate from offices in Townsville and Brisbane, and as much of our work is done remotely it’s possible you’ve spoken to but have not met all of our new team members. This wasn’t a popular decision with some of our more camera-shy folk, but I thought you might like to put a face to the names. So, here we are in all our glory. Enjoy!

	Ron Llewellyn is the principal founder of Blueprint Technologies Australia. He has over 16 years of information technology and management experience. Ron’s role in the company as Managing Director & Consulting Services Manager is to ensure that we are delivering on our promise to provide high quality advice and service in the design and support of your information technology needs. When he’s not over-seeing the business or working directly on providing service, Ron unwinds by enjoying a gruelling hike/run up and down Townsville’s Castle Hill. A little known fact about Ron is that he spent almost six years in the Qld Police Force. For two years of this, Ron was a motorcycle cop!
	Soren is our Regional Manager for South East Qld. He is directly responsible for service delivery to our clients in Brisbane and surrounding regional areas. Anyone who has met Soren will agree that whilst he’s clearly a very knowledgeable and professional individual, he also embodies the “human face of technology”. Soren completed a Bachelor of Engineering degree at the University of Sydney in 2001 with honours. A little known fact about Soren is that for his thesis, he published a book entitled “Development of an Artificial Intelligence Augmented Inter-Network Packet Filter”. Human face aside – this qualifies him as a serious “computer nerd”.
	After a few years working on her own projects, Anya couldn’t resist the opportunity to work alongside Ron again. In July 2006 Anya was re-appointed as a Director of Blueprint Technologies and resumed her role as Finance and Administration Manager. Over the past year Anya has streamlined our administration processes thereby delivering a high quality service to our customers. When Anya isn’t working or studying she likes to paint and make jewellery. A little known fact is that twelve years ago when Ron and Anya first formed the business that was to become Blueprint, Anya was juggling looking after a newborn baby, a 2 year old, a 5 year old, an 8 year old and helping Ron to get their business up and running. And the guys wonder where she gets her organizational skills from!
	Nick has now been with us for over a year now, moving from a trainee position to becoming our Star Sales Guru! Nick is your go-to guy for all quotes and purchases. He has quickly gained a wide knowledge of the products we supply and what he doesn’t know he will know where to find out. A little known fact about Nick is that he is an exceptional guitarist and unlike most guys his age, he is an amazing cook.
	Tash, the youngest member of our team, has joined us as our trainee administrator. Tash has become Anya’s right-hand woman and is also a whiz with Visio diagrams. Her commitment to Blueprint goes right to the root of her hair - literally. A little known fact about Tash is that she is an awesome jazz singer – after a couple of drinks she can often be heard channelling Aretha Franklin.
Farewell John	John Tran joined us in October 2006 and has been an excellent asset to Blueprint, always eager and willing to take on any jobs. Sadly he has been offered a position elsewhere and unfortunately for us, has taken up the offer. We wish him all the best in the future, and hope he keeps in touch.
	New Guy is yet to reveal his identity to us, however with a degree in IT, 4 years experience in the industry, full knowledge and experience with PC systems and file servers and looking a little bit like James Bond (see photo), we can’t wait to meet him! If you happen to catch him, please let us know!

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An Easier Way to Shop

By Tash

After a long time in the pipeline, we are proud to announce the imminent arrival of our online shop! Our shop will open up a whole new shopping experience for you - our wonderful customers - by giving you the ability to:

1	Browse the many products we are able to offer
1	Keep a list of favourite products and related items
1	Keep informed of special offers and promotions
1	Produce your own online quote and email it to yourself or to your manager / purchasing officer for authorisation
1	Make your purchases from the comfort of your desk with delivery direct to you.

Not only are we able to provide all manner of business related IT products, we can also supply personal items such as mp3 players, digital cameras and accessories! Stay tuned for the official launch.

Check up on our website - http://www.bta.com.au for updates, information, HelpDesk, cool links and a fresh new perspective.

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Help Online

By Ron

Are you taking advantage of our Online Helpdesk? Many of our customers find it useful to log and manage support requests directly online. The online helpdesk not only allows you to set the priority of the jobs you log, but also to request a completion date/time and track the job as it progresses. Not only that, but you have access to a full history of solutions for all support jobs - so next time you may be able to resolve the problem without even calling for help!

To briefly describe the system;

It is accessible using a web browser via the Internet at http://helpdesk.bta.com.au.
The system operates from Blueprint’s file server which is 24 hrs accessible via the Internet
Each customer has a unique logon id and profile. (Initially only one logon id is issued to the main contact within an organisation, however if multiple people are responsible for logging jobs, more logon id’s can be granted at any time).
Jobs can be logged into the system directly by the customer. (Alternatively, you can call our office or just email us and we will log a job on your behalf).
Upon a job being logged the system enters the job information supplied into our support database. A job number is automatically assigned and a confirmation email with job reference number is sent to the customer's nominated email address. At this time also, an email is generated to the Blueprint support mailbox to initiate action.
The Helpdesk system can be reviewed by the customer at any time to; review list of open jobs and track progress to completion; add further information, increase severity etc
Blueprint technicians will enter any work activity or respond accordingly by inputting updates.
When a job is updated by either the customer or Blueprint, a confirmation email is sent to the customer with details.

A user guide is available for download from the logon screen at http://helpdesk.bta.com.au. Why not check it out. If you don't yet have a logon, or have forgotten your password, send an email to support@bta.com.au and we'll organise one for you right away.

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Make A Wyse Choice

By Anya

Many of our clients have begun replacing their old desktop computers with Wyse thin clients. This is a wise choice in more ways than one. For instance did you know that Wyse thin clients:

consume less power (90% less energy than PCs per year)

last longer than traditional PCs

have fewer parts to recycle and dispose of (27 fewer tons of e-waste headed to landfills per six years)

As impressive as this is, Wyse are continuing their development with innovations such as thin clients no longer requiring separate power outlets, instead utilising an Ethernet port for all energy use.

Blueprint’s aim is to focus more on reducing our environmental impact. Wyse thin clients are helping us achieve this goal. Interested? Call us today for more information or visit http://www.wyse.com.au/

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That’s The Key!

Tech Tip from Soren

Microsoft Windows XP and Vista support a wide range of shortcut key functions. One of the simplest and most helpful shortcut keys is the Windows Key. The Windows key is normally placed on your keyboard slightly to the left of your spacebar and has a Windows Logo on it. This key when pressed in combination with other keyboard keys allows you to perform common tasks quickly and simply without needing to use the mouse. Some of the more commonly used shortcut keys are shown below.

R	Opens the “Run” dialog box.	M	Minimises all windows
E	Opens Windows Explorer	D	Minimises all windows and shows the desktop
TAB	This key combination cycles through the programs currently running on the taskbar	F	Opens the “Find” window

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Geek Gadget

By Nick

My latest possession-obsession is the Olympus SP-550 Ultra-Zoom digital camera. Despite the size of this beast (and they call it a compact!), it’s surprisingly light-weight. I’ve found it very simple to use, with easy-to-navigate menus, and plenty of interesting features. The most mentionable of these is its 18x Optical Zoom, which is awesome for taking photos of things really close up, like your feet.

It has a 7.1 Megapixel count, 23 scene modes to automatically optimise camera settings, and even a MyMode feature to store your personal settings. Able to capture up to 15 frames per second, this camera proves to be great for motion shots, like people running away from you, or catching your friend pulling an ugly face.

For all you camera buffs out there, the Olympus also does Macro shots quite well, with a Super-Macro mode (1cm), CCD-Shift Image Stabiliser, ISO sensitivity ranging from 50 to 5000, and saves as JPEG and RAW, among other formats. Unfortunately, it uses 4x AA batteries, which can be run down quickly if you’re using the AF function, and constantly changing the zoom. I’ve also found it does have fairly noticeable noise in the higher ISO settings, and can take a few seconds to write higher quality shots to its xD-picture card. In spite of a few hitches, this is an exciting camera for the casual photographer - like me!

Did you enjoy this newsletter? Blueprint will be sending our news to your inbox on a monthly basis. If you wish to unsubscribe, follow the instructions below and you will be removed from the mailing list. If you have any feedback for us, we’d love to hear it. Just send to the same email as above. Stay tuned for November’s edition!

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How to Contact us

Our team are happy to assist with any enquiries you might have.

Freecall 1800 064 906
Telephone (07) 3852 1250
Fax (07) 3852 1194
e-mail sales@bta.com.au
Website www.bta.com.au

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To Unsubscribe From This e-Update Service

To unsubscribe from this service send an e-mail to eupdates@bta.com.au with the subject "unsubscribe newsletter". You will be sent a confirmation e-mail which you need to respond to. Once this is done you will be unsubscribed.

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Our Simple Privacy Policy

Our privacy policy is simple. We will never sell or give your e-mail details to another company. We will never use your e-mail address other than to send correspondence that you request. We will make sure at all times to keep your details safe. If you ever want us to stop sending you information we will do so. If our automated subscription system doesn’t do as you ask you can e-mail us at info@bta.com.au with your details and we will make sure the problem is corrected. Alternatively please contact us if you have problems or complaints about this e-mail.

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Copyright

No part of this document may be reproduced, copied, stored or transmitted in any form without the prior permission of Blueprint Technologies Australia. Reproduction or redistribution for commercial purposes of any materials or design elements contained within is strictly prohibited without the express written permission of Blueprint Technologies Australia.

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Disclaimer

Blueprint Technologies Australia makes no representation and gives no warranty as to the accuracy of the information contained in this document and does not accept any responsibility for any errors or inaccuracies in, or omissions from, the information contained herein (whether negligent or otherwise). Blueprint Technologies Australia shall not be liable for any loss or damage whatsoever arising as a result of any person acting on any information contained in this document. This disclaimer does not exclude any warranties implied by law which may not be lawfully excluded.

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