Big Night at V2 Club

It's 'Roll the Barrel' in Denbigh tomorrow - this traditional boxing day event will ensure a busy night in Ruthin. Why not try the newly reopened and refurbished V2 Nightclub? The club will no doubt be packed tomorrow and you will have the perfect chance to sample the atmosphere and see what is on offer.

Tengo Media look after all of the IT needs of the club, having provided EPOS Tills and Software, Cabling, CCTV, BackOffice Systems, and Admission Systems. We also designed the clubs brand new website. Congratulations to the Turners on reopening the club and making it a success, it is a venue that is crucial to Ruthin and brings employment and revenue to the town.

Ruthin Community Discount

Ruthin - © Wales Tourist Board

Starting in the new year, tengomedia are introducing a special discounted rate for consumers and small businesses. For PC Repair, Servicing, Upgrades and Call-Outs for consumers and small businesses in the immediate area around our Head-Office (Ruthin & surrounding villages), we offer a special discounted rate of £40 per hour inclusive of VAT. This applies to consumers and small privately owned companies only and is aimed at supporting the local community and helping them to make the most of the technology available today. The rate is charged in 15 minute blocks, so a simple repair could be as little as £10. PC or Laptop running slow? Niggling little problems that you wish you could solve? Infected by a virus? Whatever the issue, getting expert help is now cheaper than ever.

Our standard rate is 50% higher than this, so it's a huge saving - we realise that providing support locally costs us less than dealing with customers further afield, and we would like to encourage the adoption of technology in the area. Existing customers will automatically be placed onto the lower rate, so your bills will be lower next year!

More cost saving tips:
Cut out the call out! If you bring your PC or Laptop into our workshop to fix, this will always save you money - if an engineer is called out, all of his or her time will be charged to you including travel - in the workshop, an engineer can be working on several machines at once, and you will only be billed for each minute spent on your machine, rather than being billed whilst we are waiting for operations to complete.

Give us what we need - if you are bringing a PC into us, we only need the tower unit, not the keyboard, monitor, mouse and cables. With a laptop, please always ensure you bring the charger. And always ensure you leave us details to access the machine, any user-names and passwords required. If we have everything to hand and don't have to contact you, this can also reduce your bill.

Remember, however small the problem, we can help, and for those local to us, from as little as £10!

Age Concern Gift-Aid EPOS Installation

In January 2011, tengomedia will be rolling out tengoPOS EPOS software into Age Concern - the system takes pre-signed Gift-Aid declarations from people donating goods, enabling the charity to claim an extra 28p in the pound back on goods sold from HM Revenue & Customs.

The PC based tills and software will be installed at Age Concern Carlton Hill, Nottingham, in mid January - many thanks to Derick Ferguson and his team for working with us on this project.

Fairfax House York Software Contract

It has been confirmed today that tengomedia have won the contract to supply EPOS and BackOffice systems to Fairfax House in York, covering their Admissions, Ticketing and Retail Point Of Sale, in addition to back-office stock and reporting. The system will collect Gift Aid declarations for admission and tickets sales to enable the charity to claim additional tax back from HMRC.

Fairfax House is the finest Georgian townhouse in England. The house is owned by York Civic Trust who carried out major restoration work in the 1980s to return this magnificent building to its former glory.

Fairfax House is open to visitors for most of the year and has a varied programme of events, exhibitions and talks. It is also possible to arrange private group tours and to hire the building for a special events or exclusive dining.

The installation is due to take place in January, we would like to thank Fairfax House for choosing tengomedia, and we look forward to working with Hannah and her team!

New Website

Our new website is now live at http://www.tengomedia.co.uk/ - we will be adding more content over the coming days, and the new site will be kept up-to-date with all the latest news and information regarding our products and services.

To celebrate the launch, we are running a competition - the new site is integrated with twitter and our new facebook page - on Monday (20th December 2010) at 10pm, we will randomly select someone who has 'liked' our facebook page to win a 3G mobile broadband dongle on the 3 network, including a months free internet!

Click the button below or the one on our site to 'like' our page. Good luck!

Christmas Opening & Deliveries

Tengo Media:
We will be closed from the 24th December until the 4th January. Out of hours support for clients with appropriate contracts will continue as normal, with the exception of Christmas day itself, when none of our staff will be working.

Tengo Direct:
All orders placed until Wed the 22nd using Next Day delivery will arrive on Thursday the 23rd (weather permitting). On Thursday the 23rd we will be open until 5.30pm with all Next Day delivery orders will be processed and dispatched which should arrive on the 24th. However, due to the high Volume of parcels some orders may not arrive until the 29th/30th December.

Orders placed between Friday the 24th and Tues the 4th of January can not be guaranteed a delivery date until Friday the 7th.

Our warehouse will be working on the 29th and the 30th processing orders, however we cannot guarantee a delivery date until the new year.

Tengo Website Beta Test

We're inviting all of our clients to offer feedback on our new look website. The new site will be CMS driven to make it easier for all of our team to edit it and keep it up-to-date, even those without any coding knowledge. Our current site has not been updated regularly and needed changing to reflect the current activities of the business.

We have gone for a 'Sunday Newspaper' theme, splitting the 6 main activities of the business into clearly labelled colour sections. This should make it easier for clients to find the info they need relating to the services they use. We will also be releasing a series of client case studies, we have found that many customers don't know the full range of services we offer, so we thought it would be good to get clients sharing their experiences with tengo. If you would like to feature in this section, or leave us any feedback on the design of the new site, please leave a comment on this blog post!

The site is currently up at http://www.tengomedia.co.uk/ws/, the main design theme is present and we will be adding in content all week, with the launch penciled in for the weekend. Let us know what you think!

netscores.co.uk website launch

The new website www.netscores.co.uk launched today, offering free football and sports scores from around the world along with the latest betting odds, from bet365.com.

Tengo Media integrated the data feed of score information with the live odds data feeds, and are also handling the Search Engine Optimization and Social Networking strategy for the site. The site will also shortly be available through the address www.liveinternetfootballscores.co.uk.

Maximising Gift Aid revenue with tengoPOS

Tengo Media released a case study today looking at the benefits of using tengoPOS EPOS (Electronic Point Of Sale) for charitable visitor attractions and retail outlets. The study looks at the implementation of the software within the National Trust, and why it has been so effective for them in increasing revenue from the scheme. The study can be downloaded here.

Phoenix Williams Website Launch

Tengo Media today launched the brand new website for Phoenix Williams, the fantastic singer/songwriter/musician from Blackpool. Phoenix now has a fantastic website to match her amazing talents, take a look at www.phoenixwilliams.co.uk now and hear samples of her music, find details of upcoming gigs, and learn more about Phoenix herself.

Tengo also created the new brand whilst working on the site, the striking logo being based on the phoenix tattoo which you can see in the photo on the homepage.

On the launch day itself, Phoenix had this to say with regards the website and working with Tengo:

" The website looks amazing and I am thrilled and extremely appreciative for all of the time and hard work Tengo Media have put in to creating it!  Here’s to my forthcoming album reaching number one to go with a number one website! "

Free web domain & hosting for life!

It's competition time again, and this time we have an amazing prize - free UNLIMITED web hosting, email & domain name for LIFE for the lucky business or individual. You can register or transfer in any .co.uk or .com domain name with us, and you won't have to pay a penny from that point onwards - unlimited email addresses, unlimited bandwidth & storage, no renewal fees.

All you need to do to be in with a chance of winning is re-tweet the twitter post regarding this competition, and follow tengomedia on twitter - the winner will be chosen at random after the closing time, which is 10pm Saturday the 7th of August 2010. Good luck!

Steven Williams joins the team

Tengo Media have appointed Steven Williams from Rhewl as a Junior Technician. Steven has been on Work Experience twice whilst studying I.T. at Brynhyfryd, and will now be based part-time in our Ruthin workshop. A big welcome to Steven from all the team!

iPhone 4 UK Launch Day Review

Had an email yesterday to say that my new iPhone had been shipped, but I was still surprised when it turned up at 9am on the dot! The package itself was tiny, and as with the 3GS and other Apple products, even the packaging is something of an engineering masterpiece. Anyway, packaging hastily removed, iPhone activated and synced, here goes the review.

First Impressions

First glance of the phone sat neatly in the top of the box, and it doesn't immediately strike you as looking that different - roughly the same size, black glass front with the button and ear-piece in the same place.

Pick it up and hold it though, and its a different story - this is an iPhone 3GS that has done some seriously tough work in the gym - it is thinner, leaner, better looking - no unnecessary bulges or curves. Apparently it is slightly heavier, but it doesn't feel it. It's also had laser eye surgery, the now 5 megapixel camera is a significant improvement over the one in the 3GS - there's now a flash and a forward facing camera for FaceTime (Apples' new video phone standard), Skype and other apps. 2 hours in I haven't yet found anyone else with an iPhone 4 to test the video phone feature, once I've finished writing I'll go look!

Setting Up

The new iPhone 4 uses the same micro sim as the iPad - a cut down version of a standard sim card - and when I say cut down, in my case you can take this literally - I am yet to receive my new Vodafone Sim, so I actually had to cut my old one down to size - there is a guide on how to do this here.

Aside from this, the migration from 3GS to 4 is totally simple - basically just plug it into your PC or Mac, fire up iTunes and away you go.

Big Little Screen

The screen is ever so slightly smaller than the older iPhones - but it is so much bigger in other ways - the resolution has been increased so much that you can no longer identify individual pixels - the display is fantastic. If you look at this and then go back to looking at the 3GS, you can immediately tell the difference. This is the way all screens should be it makes everything else I look at inadequate, all of a sudden the individual pixels on my laptop screen are glaring out at me, I hope someone brings out a laptop with similar technology (Apple perhaps?).

iOS4

The other major leap forward is the new operating system, version 4 - multi-tasking is the 'cut and paste' of this release, in that it was basically a glaring omission from the software that everyone else has had for ages. To be honest, so far its not blown me away - audio apps can now be played in the background, but then Apples' own iPod app always could - they had basically restricted the feature from developers. I guess over time more developers will change their apps to make use of this feature, at the moment very few have done this.

iBooks is now available (although strangely you have to go and download it yourself - usually Apples' own apps are there by default and you can't get rid) and this will no doubt become the format of choice for e-books - the sheer number of devices in circulation should ensure this. It looks great, although the iPhone and iPad's glossy screens will never match some of the e-ink e-readers in terms of readability in different lighting conditions.

Other changes are mainly tweaks and graphical improvements, being able to sort apps into folders is useful, the first thing I have done with this is move the Apple apps I dont want into a folder on my last page!

Gripes

The device itself is fantastic, my only real negative points are with regards to the way apple restrict the release of new technology. The new iPhone 4 is available in the same 16GB and 32GB variants as the 3GS. Why? 32GB will soon get full if you use the device to watch movies on, and with this screen, you will certainly want to. Why not increase the capacity?I can only think it is something todo with the iPad, you can get one of those with 64GB, perhaps it is intended to differentiate between the 2 products. Incidentally, they've done the same thing there, which is why I am yet to buy an iPad - amongst other things, there is no camera on the device - it is a contender to replace netbooks, but even my £200 netbook has a front facing camera in it!

Verdict

Obviously this is more of a first impression than an in-depth review - many things such as the all important battery life cannot be tested in the (now 3 hours worth) of time I have had with the phone. However, this is clearly an amazing device and will no doubt be the best smart-phone around, at least for the moment. Should you buy one? Well, if you have a 3GS and you are tied in to a contract, you may want to wait - iOS4 is available for the 3GS and give you all the new software features of the iPhone 4. One tip though - don't pick up the iPhone 4 if you see one, because you won't want to go back to your 3GS. For everyone who is in a position to upgrade, or is just looking to buy a new handset, then this is the one to go for.

VAT Increase to 20%

In George Osborne's Budget today was an announcement that VAT will be increased to 20% from the 4th Jan 2011. Users of our Back-Office and EPOS Systems tengoElements and tengoPOS can pre-define he future change, and specify an auto update to prices. Some customers may simply increase the Gross price, or you may wish to absorb the rise and decrease your nett prices - either way you can set this to automatically occur at the right time. Get in touch if you need help with this, as this change affects everyone and is over the Christmas period, it would be better to get any support queries regarding this in sooner rather than later!

Epson Stylus All-In-One Give-away

Tengo Media are giving away a superb Epson Stylus SX110 All-In-One Printer, from Tengo Direct - all you have to do to be in with a chance of winning is to Re-Tweet the twitter post regarding this offer, and follow us on twitter - the offer is open to UK residents only, and will end at 10pm Saturday the 26th June 2010. A list of Re-Tweeters and followers will be exported at the closing time, and one Tweeter will be chosen at random to win the prize. Full details of the printer as below:

Description

This compact easy to use all-in-one is great for printing scanning and copying all your documents and photos. It comes with individual ink cartridges which save you money as you only have to replace the colour used.Take care of all your home printing scanning and copying with the affordable Epson Stylus SX110 Series. From high-quality documents to lab-quality photos Epson DURABrite Ultra Ink delivers great results. It s cost-effective too because with individual inks you only have to replace the colour used.The Epson Stylus SX110 Series also includes easy-to-use software which brings out the best in your prints. You can remove red-eye and enhance images with Epson Easy Photo Print while the new push-scan button makes it even easier to bring scans of old photos back to life with Epson Easy Photo Fix"!.

Specification

• Type: All-in-One
• Max Paper Size: A4
• Photo Quality: Yes
• Connection: USB 2.0
• Scan & Copy Functions: Yes
• Built-in Card Reader: Yes
• Display:
• Additional Features: Bundled software Epson Easy Photo Print Epson Event Manager Epson Web-To-Page ABBYY FineReader 6.0 Sprint Plus (PC) ABBYY FineReader 5.0 Sprint Plus (Mac)
• Warranty: 1 Year

iPhone 4 Review Preview

My new iPhone 4 will be arriving Thursday morning, and we're aiming to get a review up and on-line in double quick time - tell us if there's anything in particular you want us to cover, send a comment on the blog or a message through twitter, and I'll make sure your feedback is incorporated. Be sure to check the blog on Thursday to get the verdict!

Tengo Media Llanfair DC FC Sponsorship

Tengo Media are now the official kit sponsor of Llanfair Dyffryn Clwyd Football Club. Managing director Tom Strapps (also a player for the team) presented the kit to Llanfair Chairman John Tudor at a recent home game. John had to step in as emergency goalkeeper for the day, but the kit seems to be a lucky charm for the team who now have 3 wins and an away draw against the league leaders under their belts in the 4 games since the kit arrived!

The Llanfair team show off the new kit.

Classic Formalwear Website Launch

Tengo have today launched a website for Classic Formalwear of Bolton, an independent men's formal hire outlet in the Northwest of England. They wanted the design to have the maximum impact for showcasing their wares, so tengo suggested a black background which ensures that the imagery stands out.

Also incorporated is a unique gallery function on the waistcoats page - the various designs are shown as clear, bright thumbnails, and on clicking zoom off the page within the viewing window, regardless of the monitor resolution being used. Framed with the dark design of the rest of the site, this gives viewers a clear and details view of the products available.

Take a look at their site which is now live at www.classicformalwear.co.uk.

ASUS Eee PC shows Tengo Direct can compete

We reckon we have got some of the most competitive prices available in the UK today when it comes to IT Equipment, PC's, Laptops and Accessories - a quick price check today on the top 10" Asus Netbook the 1008P, suggests we're not wrong!

The Netbook is available at tengodirect.co.uk for £340.75 including VAT - at the time of writing, PC World list the item for £349.99, with Dixons coming in slightly cheaper at £349 exactly.

New Blog

Ok, we're probably a bit behind the times with this one, but we have now launched a blog that will be maintained by our staff and contributors - this replaces the news section on the tengomedia.co.uk site, and will be used for news, reviews and comments regarding all of Tengo Media's activities.

Follow the blog and follow us on twitter to keep up-to-date with the latest news. Headlines on twitter regarding internal news and events will link back to articles on this blog.

Old News

The old news posts from the tengomedia.co.uk site will be copied into this post - the blog now replaces the news section, in order to make it easier for us all to post news items, and expand on twitter posts with more in-depth articles and reviews. Old News:

13.02.2010 - Lanhydrock House

Lanhydrock Hall, the National Trusts' flagship site in Cornwall reopened for the season today running tengoPOS powered retail tills. This is the second National Trust property to purchase solutions from tengo, with a further 7 to be rolled out over the next 2 months. Many thanks to Sarah Merriman and her team during the installation.

11.11.2009 - Welsh Mountain Zoo

Tengo have been given the go-ahead to install Gift-Aid and Retail till systems at the Welsh Mountain Zoo in Colwyn Bay. We would like to thank them for their order, and look forward to working with Chris and his team on this exciting project.

09.10.2009 - The White Stuff

Tengo provide EPOS Till and Kitchen order printing system to the White Horse Restaurant in Hendrerwydd. Tom Strapps and Oswyn Griffiths attended the opening night, both the Restaurant and the EPOS system look like being a massive success.

02.10.2009 - V2 Installation

Tengo provide EPOS Till systems for the bar and entry, and CCTV camera systems for the new V2 nightclub in Ruthin (formerly The Venue).

17.07.2009 - Heading for a new Head-Office

Tengo Media's Head Office is now located in the new Birch House Business Centre on Hen Lon Parcwr. The new offices give us improved conference and training facilities, and a higher capacity workshop specifically designed to prepare for larger scale projects.

05.03.2009 - Data Recovery Service Launches

Tengo can now recover files and data from broken hard disk drives. Find out more...

28.02.2009 - National Trust in Tengo

Bespoke POS software written for the National Trust was unveiled today with the opening for the season of Bodnant Garden in Conwy.

The software consists of a modified version of TengoPOS, with integrated post-code lookup and data replicated to a central storage point. The system accounts for charitable donations uner the 'Gift-aid' scheme.

07.11.2008 - Lancashire Hot-Spot

To support our growing number of clients in the North-West of England, Tengo have opened an office in Leyland, Preston.

01.09.2007 - Tengo on the move

Having secured over 200 business clients in North Wales and beyond, Tengo move to new premesis in Ruthin's Lon Parcwr Industrial Estate.

24.08.2005 - Company Formation

Tengo Media was formed today as an IT Consultancy business based in Llanfair D.C., North Wales.