IT Recommendations for all Resident Directors
Merlin Estates strongly recommends that all Resident Directors have the following minimum IT to ensure the flow of information between Merlin Estates and our Directors.
Software:
Microsoft Office:
We strongly recommend that if you are a Resident Director or if you are thinking of becoming a Resident Director that you have a copy of Microsoft Office. If you have a older version of Microsoft Office (older than 2007) you must download the Microsoft Compatibility Pack available on our Customer Technical Support page or direct from the Microsoft web site. If you are buying a new laptop or PC we recommend that you purchase an OEM version of Microsoft Office which will be considerably cheaper than buying a new version at a later date. Ask the retailer for more details or contact Merlin Estates Ltd where we can advise you in more detail.
Adobe Reader:
We often send out PDF files to our directors. These can be anything from reports to documents. You can download the application for free from the Customer Technical Support page.
File Extractor:
If we need to send our Resident Directors multiple files then we will compress the files into a Zip file. This will reduce the over all files sizes making it quicker for people to send and receive over email. If you don't have a File Extractor we recommend one of the following applications:
- Win Zip (Probably the most widely used but you will need to purchase a software license for this product)
- WinRAR (A very good application but also requires a purchase of a software license)
- 7-Zip (Highly Recommended) (A very good application which is widely used and the fact that it's "Open Source" means you can use for free. You can download the application for free from the Customer Technical Support page.
A valid email address:
This is provided free from all internet Service Providers but if you have forgotten your email address and password then you can set up a free email address with Gmail or Hotmail for example.
Connectivity (aka access to the Internet)
We strongly recommend that you have access to the internet from your home. This can be provided via a number of methods:
- Dial up (A old technology and not really used anymore as it's very slow and expensive)
- ISDN (For remote locations, faster than dial-up but still slow comparing to today's standards)
- Satellite Broadband (Normally used in very remote locations and send/receives data from a satellite dish. Can be very slow and is affected by the weather and the sun)
- WAP (You can use your mobile phone to connect your PC to the internet using the 3g network. Can be expensive and very intermittent as you are reliant on a signal to your mobile phone)
- Wireless Hotspots: (you can use you're built in Wi-Fi card to pick up wireless connectivity. This is unsecure and can be rather slow and is only found in built up areas)
- Broadband (Probably the most widely used around the country today. 3 different types available ADSL, ADSL2 and SDSL all 3 are fast compared to the above examples)
- Fibre Optic (This is the next generation of services being rolled out across the country by BT and Virgin Media and is eventually replacing broadband. Very fast and affordable)
- Leased lines (Very expensive as you have dedicated bandwidth. Mostly used by companies)
Note: For the general household we recommend Fibre Optic if available in your area if not we recommend Broadband.
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Victoria House
18-22 Albert Street
Fleet
Hampshire
GU51 3RJ
