Blu-ray, CD, DVD, USB and much more…

In recent months we have heard stories about large corporations losing CDs and USBs containing confidential details of millions of customers, including bank details, health records and other sensitive information. The general public are understandably worried about the safety of their confidential information, and the companies that store this data have a duty to keep it from falling into the wrong hands.

The stories that dominate the news relate primarily to larger businesses, however this does not mean the same security lapses aren’t happening in smaller enterprises. In fact, the possibilities of data loss are just as likely, if not more so, because of budget and personnel constraints. But this shouldn’t be an excuse.

In the current economic climate, businesses should treat their customers like gold dust. Repeat business is vital to the prosperity of most SMEs and confidential information should be protected in an appropriate manner.

Human error is always an added risk and unfortunately mistakes are made despite best efforts to avoid them. However, if SMEs become more vigilant and follow simple rules to protect their data, even in the event of piracy or theft, they can reduce the chances of data loss dramatically. Both they and their customers will be safe in the knowledge that their data is protected from unauthorised access.

A new product on the data protection market reaches out to smaller businesses helping them password protect, encrypt and record their data. It is ideal for those needing to backup or distribute sensitive data quickly and very simply without compromising the level of security.

AutoSave Encrypt contains a pioneering embedded technology (CDSoft-R Cryptex) which means you won’t need to install any software in order to burn and encrypt your files to disc. The files are password protected when the data is initially transferred onto the disc. If your Cryptex disc is lost or stolen, it will become totally useless without the original disc or the password to access it.

For more information on this product and other security products visit this website: www.storeandprotect.co.uk

By increasing the awareness of the importance of data security, we hope SMEs and corporations take responsibility for protecting private information.

From a business and personal perspective, it is the right thing to do.

We have all sorts of discussions here in the office and amongst a lot of rather insignificant trivia we thought this was one worth sharing!

There are many hacks and utilities to increase the volume on your ipod but what most people miss is the fact that in itunes all tracks are set to play at half volume. This is fine if sat at home or listening to music quietly on your own but if you’re on a plane or outside running, then sometimes it would be nice to drown out that background noise.

If you right click on a track in itunes and select Get Info. Then in the Options tab you will see the volume adjustment which you can increase accordingly. If you wish you can highlight your whole library and then repeat that process and this will update them all.

Now you’ll be able to run your ipod at half volume and turn it up accordingly if needed rather than always running at max volume and it not being enough.

This will also resolve the issue with tracks being set at different volumes when you download them. Even in itunes the volume can be different from track to track so you’re forever making adjustments when listening back but to listen to those quiet acoustic tracks on the plane, this is the easiest and quickest fix available.

Set your iPod volume to a safe level.
If you experience ringing in your ears, reduce the volume or discontinue use of your iPod.
Warning: Permanent hearing loss may occur if earbuds or headphones are used at high volume. You can adapt over time to a higher volume of sound that may sound normal but can be damaging to your hearing. If you experience ringing in your ears or muffled speech, stop listening and have your hearing checked.

The louder the volume, the less time is required before your hearing could be affected. Hearing experts suggest that to protect your hearing:

• Limit the amount of time you use earbuds or headphones at high volume.
• Avoid turning up the volume to block out noisy surroundings.
• Turn the volume down if you can’t hear people speaking near you.

Our most successful marketing direction to date has been the implementation of microsites for product specific content. The following sites have all been designed with the customer in mind, providing more detailed information on each subject than we are able to provide on our main website. They are proving a valuable resource for attracting new customers, guiding existing customers through specific product details and increasing traffic to our main site:

www.disc-printers.co.uk
www.macduplicators.co.uk
www.storeandprotect.co.uk
www.blu-rayduplicators.co.uk
www.microtechx100.co.uk

Microsites may be something that could benefit you and your business. Read on to see how…

Microsite Benefits
Microsites are mini-sites consisting of one main promotional page with the option of a contact page and a form request or a promotion page. They give you the opportunity to include more detailed information on the core subject and therefore become a valuable resource to your customers. These multi-purpose sites are ideal for online marketing promotion campaigns and can encompass a wide range of traffic-generating and business-building solutions.

Microsites can be used for:
* Landing sites for email campaigns
* Marketing vehicles for brands, products or services
* Targeted satellites of larger web presences
* Dedicated sites for time-sensitive initiatives
* Effective stand-alone web presences
* Variations on themes for different audiences

Features can include:
* Content optimised specifically for search engine purposes.
* Various marketing-related elements (eg Quick Questionnaire, Free Contest, Event attendance confirmation)
* Products/Services/Promotions at a glance.
* Focused calls to action.

Microsite designs can be developed as an addition to a current web site design theme or be uniquely customised to specific services and products. If you would like advice regarding website design our expert web team will be happy to help.

The downturn in the economy has many of us reading advice from business press on steps we can take in order to help us through these times. The advice given follows a similar theme regardless of which publication or website you are reading. This article gives our take on the situation and the measures we are taking to safeguard our success:

Jo Fone

Managing Director

“One surprising aspect of the games market over the past year is that the more severe the economic downturn has become, the better the gaming market has performed.”

Recent news articles in both the Financial Times and MCVUK report that due to the credit crunch, cautious consumers are staying in and spending more money on being entertained at home. A survey by Google of most searched-for products shows gaming terms dominating. “Games represent a relatively cheap, but also exciting and innovative pastime. As more people save money by staying in, a video game, although it may cost three or four times as much as a DVD or CD, offers much more longevity and hence better value for money.”

This is excellent news for Blu-ray and proof that this format is here to stay. With more than 75million Playstation 3s, Xbox 360s and Nintendo Wii’s in the market, games software publishers are feeling the benefit of an installed base of console owners.

For more Blu-ray information visit our Blu-ray microsite

(To read the full news articles please visit MCVUK article and FT article)

CD Team’s USB & Flash memory duplicators now have the ability to duplicate USB hard disks. These are 10 slot systems able to record up to 10 external USB hard disks at once with an average speed of 300MB/Min per port. These systems can be standalone or networked and linked together if necessary allowing up to 40 duplication ports.

http://www.cdteam.co.uk/our-products/flashduplicators.html

For more information on these systems please email info@cdteam.co.uk or call 0044 (0)1491 636373

Thank you

Alex Ashur

This year, as a special treat for all our wonderful customers we are launching a Christmas Competition that is guaranteed to put a smile on your face. So why not enter into the festive spirit for your chance to win and wet your whistle with one of the three fantastic prizes. The competition will be launched the first week in December so bookmark this page and keep checking back for more details.

Ho Ho Ho…Merry Christmas and Good luck!

www.cdteam.co.uk/news/Competition

The CD Team blog has been created to provide an interactive resource for our customers so we can share our team’s in-depth knowledge of our products and services through news items and personal insights and enable our customers to provide specific feedback and additional thoughts and suggestions.

So welcome to our blog, I hope you find it useful and informative.

Regards,

Richard Dearing - Operations Director