EVENT: YoYoTech and MSI team up for prize-packed Insomnia 52 gaming festival

PC experts YoYoTech and MSI will join forces to offer prizes, discounts and charity fun at the UK’s biggest gaming festival. 

Master gaming PC builders YoYoTech and hardware supplier MSI will team up for the Multiplay Insomnia 52 event at Coventry’s Ricoh Arena over the August Bank Holiday weekend (August 22 to 25).

To raise money for Help for Heroes, YoYoTech and MSI will demo two GT Omega Racing cockpits running the latest Assetto Corsa racing simuator game.

Entrants must donate £1 each – with every penny going to the charity – and the fastest driver each day will win an MSI Gaming Graphics Card.

YoYoTech and MSI will also be hosting a LAN gaming tournament beginning on Saturday 23, along with the opportunity for contestants to pick up tips and try to beat experts from MSI’s sponsored professional gaming team, Infused.

Those who sign up are in with a chance of winning BYOC (Bring your Own Computer) tickets for the next Insomnia event, i53, due to take place later this year.

As a fun sideshow, the YoYoTech and MSI stand will also have a giant-scale Jenga set with an MSI Gaming Mouse Surface up for grabs for winning contestants. There will be hardware on offer at discounted prices over the weekend.

YoYoTech Business Development Manager Ryan Pearton said: “Insomnia 52 promises to be one of the UK’s biggest ever gaming events and we’re delighted to be teaming up with MSI to show thousands of gamers what we have to offer.”

Multiplay Insomnia 52 is one of a series of Insomnia events set to reach tens of thousands of gaming fans in 2014. August’s event is crammed with competitive gaming, tournaments, new game showcases, panel talks, meet and greets and more exhibitors than ever before.

The event takes place at the Ricoh Arena, Phoenix Way, Foleshill, Coventry CV6 6GE from Friday, August 22 to Monday, August 25.

For more information on the festival visit http://insomniagamingfestival.com

To find out more about the event wih MSI and YoYoTech, visit http://www.yoyotech.co.uk/insomnia-52?campaign=cooperations/media/kitguru/msi-i52

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EVENT: Toughbook Activity Day!

Centerprise and Panasonic have teamed up to offer Toughbook and Toughpad resellers the opportunity to join us for a fun-filled Activity Day! 

Taking place on Friday 26th September in Bristol, the activities include: Military Off Road Driving, Air Rifle Shooting, Blind 4x4 Driving, Bomb Disposal and Tank Driving.

Breakfast and a BBQ lunch are included at the event, as well as wine tasting from the local farm after the activities.

Following the action-packed day we will all head to DoubleTree by Hilton, Cadbury House, a four-star hotel set in rolling English countryside, where you’ll be treated to a three course meal and drinks, offering a great opportunity for further networking right across the channel.

Breakfast will be included at the hotel the morning after and the excellent spa facilities will be available to you throughout your stay at the hotel.

For more information and to register your interest in a place at the event, visit:  http://www.centerprise.co.uk/panasonic-activity-day/

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EVENT: IP EXPO 2014

ADAM Continuity will be on stand M21 opposite the Backup and Recovery Theatre at this year's IP EXPO, Europe’s number ONE IT infrastructure and cloud event at London's ExCel. 

IP EXPO Europe is the only must-attend show of the year for CIO’s, heads of IT, technology experts and engineers. You can register to attend IP EXPO for free through this link: http://www.ipexpo.co.uk/Register/?utm_source=IP14LAADM

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Lunch event to demonstrate the benefits of video conferencing

Businesses and organisations are invited to learn the benefits of video conferencing at a lunch event hosted by leading technology supplier Centerprise International.

Centerprise, which has just won a contract to provide IT services including video conferencing to Her Majesty’s Treasury, is to hold two events at its Basingstoke headquarters, on June 12 and July 10.

Delegates will enjoy lunch and the chance to network, and will get to see a demonstration of Centerprise’s cutting-edge, affordable and fully supported video conferencing service.

Everyone who attends will also be entered into a prize draw for the chance to win a 7” Samsung Galaxy Tab III, which the winner will take away on the day.

Marc Gravett, Business Development Manager at Centerprise, said: “We know that businesses value the many advantages of video conferencing including the fact that it means they can spend less time and money travelling to meetings.

“Video meetings are so much better than audio-only calls – they’re much more personal and you can be sure that you’re getting the full attention of the people at the other end without them being distracted by other things. They are a great way of building much closer business relationships with people who know and trust you.

“However, we’ve found that business leaders don’t like the problems that come with traditional video conferencing – the amount of equipment they need to set up and the unreliability and high cost of traditional video conferencing setups can put them off.

“Our service is different – it’s hugely flexible as it can be used in dedicated video conferencing suites or on any PC or tablet across virtually any network. It’s highly reliable, it offers superb image and sound quality and it comes at a very low cost.

“Our aim is to make video conferencing so straightforward that it’s something businesses use all the time as part of their working day. We believe that once business leaders see what our platform is capable of, they won’t look back.”

Centerprise International’s “business class” video conferencing service is platform-agnostic – meaning it works across any network and any device to offer a low-cost, ultra-reliable and highly secure way to hold meetings, conferences and business catch-ups.

The service is hosted on a secure network and in the cloud, minimising the need to install equipment. The service is fully supported by Centerprise so businesses do not need to put any time or manpower into keeping it maintained.

The system operates on a low fixed monthly fee for unlimited use and makes use of real time activity monitoring to ensure it delivers high quality video and audio to a consistently high standard. Businesses are being offered a two-week free trial so they can try the service out for themselves.

To sign up for the lunch events or to find out more about the service, see www.centerprise.co.uk/video-conferencing-solution-event.html

Centerprise’s top tips for video conferencing:

1. Check your equipment – do a dry run to make sure everything’s up and running well ahead of your meeting

2. Dress appropriately – try to avoid bright colours or complicated patterns which may be distracting on screen

3. Share information – if you’re working from an agenda or referring to reports, make sure these have been emailed to everyone taking part before you log in

4. Look at the camera – not at the screen, so the person you’re talking to can see your attention is focused on them

5. Check that there’s enough light in the room – you don’t want to appear in silhouette

6. Be natural – don’t exaggerate gestures or speak with an unusually loud voice – there’s no need

7. Be on time – there’s nothing worse than being late for a meeting whether that’s in person or on video

8. Be personal – address your comments to the person you’re talking to, eg “Sue, I’d just like to ask…”

9. De-clutter – make sure your meeting area is free of distractions so the focus is on what you’re saying and not the state of your office

10. Sign off properly – don’t forget to make sure the connection is properly severed and equipment isn’t transmitting before having that post-meeting chat with your colleagues

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YoYoTech gaming PC experts move to new home as company expands

Leading gaming PC manufacturer YoYoTech has moved to new premises as the company meets growing demand for its products. 

YoYoTech has moved from its previous premises in Hemel Hempstead to a new home in Basingstoke, Hampshire.

It will be business as usual for online customers who use the company’s site www.yoyotech.co.uk – and orders will now be fulfilled from warehouses in Basingstoke.

The company is working on setting up a showroom at its new base, which is inside the headquarters of its parent company, Centerprise International.

YoYoTech is also planning a click and collect service so customers can buy a product online and pick it up from the trade counter.

Ryan Pearton, business development at YoYoTech, said: “We were finding that our existing premises were just not meeting our needs any more.

“It made perfect sense to move our operation to Basingstoke to a building that can house our manufacturing facility and our online operation and everything else we need, but also gives us the opportunity to serve customers face to face.

“All our staff are PC gaming enthusiasts and expert advisers and it will be great to give our customers the opportunity to come in and chat to us face to face.”

YoYoTech has won numerous awards from industry publications and has an enviable reputation among PC gamers for innovation, specialised knowledge and value for money.

The company has held the world PC performance record on several occasions and has attracted national press coverage for its most expensive PC – the super-powerful gold-plated XDNA Aurum, priced at £7,979.

As well as producing cutting-edge PCs, YoYoTech also caters for beginners and gamers on a modest budget.

 Gaming PCs in the firm’s Warbird series start at just £349 and out-perform next-generation consoles, while build-your-own PC starter kits are sold from from as little as £152.99.

YoYoTech has launched a reseller programme and is actively recruiting resellers for its range of PCs. Ebuyer, Laptops Direct and Amazon have already become its stockiest.

YoYoTech is owned by Centerprise International group, a major reseller and provider of bespoke IT systems and services.

For more information see www.yoyotech.co.uk

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YOYOTech launches award-winning retro-style chassis into UK market

UK buyers can get their hands on an an award-winning retro-style PC chassis for the first time thanks to gaming PC experts YOYOTech.

The  901 Retro Mini-ITX Chassis, which combines a classic look with cutting-edge performance features, is now for sale at www.yoyotech.co.uk

The chassis, whose classic style brings to mind the home entertainment systems of the 1970s and 80s, has won a host of design accolades.

It was highly praised at CES in January, where it won Computer Shopper’s “Best of CES” award, and has also been honoured with a Red Dot Award for Design and Innovation.

The chassis, ready to ship at just £149 and compatible with mainboards in the small and highly-efficient Mini-ITX format, is created from a single piece of 4mm aluminium alloy with tinted, tempered glass side panels.

YOYOTech are also selling fully-assembled PCs housed in the retro-styled chassis in three models that form its NINE series - the Nine Silent Q1, Q2 and Q3.

The Q1 model at £699.99 includes a 2TB hard drive, the Q2 version at £849.99 adds a faster Nvidia GTX760 graphics card and 120gb solid state drive and the high performance Q3 at £1,159.99 has a lightning-fast 16GB of RAM. All three models include a noiseless passive cooling power supply.

 Despite its retro stylings the Retro Mini-ITX Chassis features a host of 21^st century features including:

•  Support for graphics cards up to 300mm
• CPU cut out for easy installation
• Hidden optical disk drive bay
• Support for external liquid cooling systems, removable hard drive brackets
• Super-efficient airflow design
• USB 3.0 ports
•  Magnetic aluminium fan filter and hidden vents

 Internally, there are two 2.5-inch bays suitable for SSD drives and another pair of bays that can take two more SSDs or a pair of 3.5-inch drives.

For users who require a slimline optical drive, there is a secluded bay underneath the main chassis.

Connectivity is taken care of with a standard 3.5mm audio port and a pair of high-speed USB 3 ports. 

Airflow is smooth thanks to a whisper-quiet 90mm rear fan, a 120mm fan at the bottom of the chassis and a 120mm liquid cooling radiator. 

The overall dimensions are 350mm x 173mm x 400mm and the 901 can support a CPU heatsink that’s up to 130mm in size. 

YOYOTech business development manager Ryan Pearton said: “This chassis has turned a lot of heads and deservedly it has been on the receiving end of some prestigious awards.

“Its classic design combined with the latest in performance make it an excellent buy and we’re delighted to be offering it for sale in the UK for the first time.”

For more information on the Nine Series see www.yoyotech.co.uk/yoyotech-nine-series 

For information on the chassis, see www.yoyotech.co.uk/inwin-901-available-now

If you would like to see a sample for review, then please email ryan@yoyotech.co.uk

Ends

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Forum on disaster recovery and data backup to go with a swing

Experts on data backup and disaster recovery are to give advice at a free session – followed by a round of golf.

Award-winning data recovery specialists ADAM Continuity will host the forum, called The Future of Backup and Disaster Recovery… in the Cloud, at Sandford Springs Golf Club, Kingsclere, near Basingstoke, on Tuesday, May 20.

The event is open to delegates from all firms and organisations and will be particularly relevant to IT managers, systems analysts, finance directors, IT directors and anyone involved in back-ups and data resilience roles.

The session begins at 9.45am and concludes with a lunch and networking opportunity at 12.30pm. Guests are welcome to join staff from ADAM Continuity for nine holes of golf after the session.

Ronan McCurtin, managing director of ADAM Continuity, based in Basingstoke, said: “As industry experts, we understand the importance of securely backing up your data.

“This forum is an opportunity to learn more about some of the trends surrounding data, the impact this could have on your business and how you could protect your organisation should the worst happen.”

ADAM Continuity, which holds the Evault Service Provider of the Year Award, offers a round-the-clock service to step in and help businesses whenever disaster strikes.

Its cloud-based data backup service means data can be quickly restored and enables employees to access it by working remotely if required.

ADAM also offers entire office recovery suites which businesses can move into at a moment’s notice in the event of a problem such as a fire or flood.

To secure a place at the Sandford Springs event contact Wendy Mills at ADAM Continuity on 01256 378 134 or by email at wmills@adam.co.uk. The event is free but spaces are limited.

For more information about ADAM Continuity, which is part of the Centerprise International group, visit www.adam.co.uk

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