How Can Event Technology Help Your Event?

The technological world we live in has left no stone unturned, and the field of event technology has changed and improved dramatically over the years. If you are planning an event or are keen to start organising one then learning about what event technology is available and how this can be used at your own event is a good idea. By using relevant and high quality audio visual equipment at your event, you can dramatically improve the experience of the attendees. Having audio visual equipment present can mean the difference between an average event and one that is never forgotten.

Slideshows and overhead projectors as you likely remember then are a thing of the past. Today projectors and projection screens offer an incredible quality and work brilliantly to provide a conference with visual materials. If you organising a conference or a meeting of some kind then the chances are good that your speaker will wish to point to information or provide visual representations of the ideas being discussed. Using a projector with a projection screen is ideal for this. It can be connected to a computer or laptop and therefore can be used to show graphs, slideshows or other presentations easily.

Another relatively new aspect of event technology is that of an interactive whiteboard. These are brilliant for large scale brainstorming sessions and can really encourage audience participation. If you want to particularly encourage interaction between delegates then ensuring you have an interactive whiteboard at the front of the room will help do this. If you are organising a music event or some kind of performance then getting the lighting correct is absolutely critical. Lighting displays are necessary to guarantee a good performance and to ensure the audience enjoy themselves. Lighting systems are more efficient, more effective and better for the environment than ever before. Whether it is a drama or music related event, planning the lighting system is one of the first and most important tasks that should be done.

Digital signage can also make a huge difference to the success of an event of conference. Video walls are available as are single screen displays and a host of other multi screen facilities. Depending on what event you are planning, you may wish to hire some digital signage of some kind to ensure the day stands out in people's minds. If your event is being hosted outside then you are likely to need some kind or personal address system. These are perfect for making announcements and passing along information. The equipment available today is clearer than ever before and they can project a sound over a considerable area.

If you want to display and present information to a large number of people then hiring some kind of technology is important. The high standard of event technology that is available in the modern age means that business events or conferences can be more interactive than ever before. Musical and theatrical performances too have benefited tremendously over the years due the huge improvements made to lights and sound equipment. Now musical performances can enjoy crisp and clear sounds and theatre productions can make the most out of lighting displays.

Event technology is very important regardless of what type of event you are organising. AV furniture is also available to house the equipment and ensure it works well. Audio visual installation is often included in the overall cost of hiring. You should check this out though with the company you are using. If you are new to the world of event management then it is well worth looking to hire an event management company to organise the event on your behalf. This can save you a great deal of time, money and stress too.

Leah Williams writes articles for Piranha Audio-Visual. Through the implementation of various pieces of event technology, Piranha's team of workers help to support and offer advice on planning your event. Audio visual installation is one of the most popular service, with various projectors and av furniture just some of the pieces of equipment used.

Google Sites, Much More Than Just a Free Website

Google Sites is not just an application for creating web pages to give your company a presence on the internet. There are plenty of simplified template based packages available; these are ideal for home, club or one man businesses. But if you need an application that can provide for the needs of a small or medium business requiring more than just a web presence then consider Google Sites.

What does Google Sites offer?
It offers more than you initially think;
• Company website
• Intranet - the internal company website for staff
• Project specific workspaces
• Team specific pages
• Storage for all types of folders and files
• Classroom

The setting up and use of Google Sites requires no specialist programming skills and because it is web based, the mechanics can be managed from anywhere with an internet connection whether you are in the office or mobile.

Another positive aspect to this web based application is it does not matter what operating system is being used on the computer, Windows, Linux or Mac, you will still be able to access the inner sanctum of the application.

How do you create with Google Sites?

Well one thing most people will be glad of is you will not have to learn specialist computer language; the only typing needed is your informational text, the rest of it is just clicking buttons or ticking boxes. The application will also upload all the information to the web for you. Setting up is a simple select and click procedure so should not pose a problem to anyone even those who have limited computer knowledge.

The initial part of the set-up is to choose a template from the great selection of templates Google are increasing constantly. Find one that represents the style you wish to associate in the colours or themes that may already exist within your company; or you may want to take the opportunity to go for a whole new re-branding exercise. Once you have decided on colours, styles and themes you need to look at what you want to include in the site, how many pages and what the content is going to be.

It is worth remembering that you can upload images and videos to make the site interesting and also keep your text upmarket and fun to read otherwise your viewers just get bored and go elsewhere. This is particularly relevant if you are promoting your business through the site.

If you are going to store folders, files, presentations or videos for the use of others on your website then you get 10 gigabytes of storage space with 500 megabytes for each user account. The maximum size of one file is a massive 10 megabytes.

There is a simple interface that allows you to set permissions for all content and pages within your site so only the staff and out of company visitors see what you wish them to see.

Google Sites is a very cost effective way of getting your company's presence onto the internet; in fact it is free, it also comes free as part of Google Apps.

For more information about Google Sites visit Ancoris who are are an authorised Google Apps Reseller offering Google Apps Training and much more.

Google Postini Scans Spam

The Postini company actually scanned Spam for spam; that is it provided anti-spam filters for Hormel Foods the manufacturers of the meat product Spam along with 4200 other companies and 6 million individuals. The company first came to life in California in 1999 and within 6 years was responsible for scanning in excess of over 2.5 billion emails weekly; it was no wonder Google decided to acquire it in mid 2007 at a cost of $625 million.

Spam as most of us know is the irritant that ends up in your email inbox as an uninvited guest; spam is just one of those irritants delivered in this way along with malware, phishing and viruses. Probably the most common forms of spam are those emails purporting to be a Nigerian person who has acquired millions of dollars and needs a reliable source to help them remove it from the country and of course the good old Viagra and penis enlargement tablets. Yes and incredible as it may seem people have actually fallen for them.

Obviously the frequency and quantities of these un-requested offers caused a big enough problem to make it financially viable for companies like Postini to address the issue and sell their solutions.

Google is one of the companies responsible for running Cloud Computing Services, known as 'Google Apps', and is probably one of the few companies that offer a true Cloud Computing service that is 100% 'cloud'.

Cloud Computing is a service whereby you keep all your software, applications, folders and files on a remote server saving you the need to run your own servers and IT services.

In order to protect a Cloud Computer Service and its clients from spam and other attacks you need a first rate web security system; Google recognising this acquired one of the best in the business in order to protect themselves and their clients. The Google Postini web security and archiving service sits neatly within their cloud and adds value to their overall services; allowing them to be internet compliant from their own use and removing spam and malware before it arrives at customer's mail boxes.

The use of Postini saves your business having to run expensive IT departments where a considerable amount of staff time can be spent stopping and dealing with both real and perceived threats from spam, malware and viruses; in addition to this downtime is practically eliminated and if it does happen it is not your responsibility to worry about getting back online again.

The Google Postini service provides message security including the basic network protection against uninvited guests, usage policies to help you comply with legislation and best practice and encryption benefiting from both SSL and TSL.

It also provides message discovery with accelerated search ability to recover lost emails, storing them for as long as needed.

Message continuity is also provided with access to your account even if your server is down. The Gmail account is synchronised automatically and comes with a massive 25 gigs of storage.

With Google Postini there is no software to be installed, upgraded or repaired as all of these sit within the cloud; you do not need the installation of extra hardware other than an internet connection.

If you are considering sticking your toe, or head, into cloud computing then look no further than a Google Apps package, it will ensure you lower IT costs, in addition to a great web security system with a first class track record to protect your work at a small percentage of the running costs you will pay for your own IT solutions.

For more information about Postini, visit Ancoris who are are an authorised Google Apps Reseller offering Google Apps Training and much more.