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When I initially upgraded to Windows 10 from Windows 7 all was perfectly hunky dory thank you. My Mac could see and talk to my PC and vica versa. Both machines have gigabit ethernet cards and my router has gigabit ports as well so network traffic was fast and furious. Then I made what was seemingly a sensible decision to install the "Creator" update for Windows 10 as I belive that from a security point of view it is important to install all updates and patches when they become available. Little did I know that from that moment on my Mac would no longer be able to see or connect to my PC. Further experiments on my part showed that using the wired ethernet connection my PC could see my Mac and connect to it but not the other way round. Needless to say many, far too many hours were spent turning firewalls off and back on again, chnaging the actual leads to the router etc and of course googling every conceivable phrase to describe the problem. More frustrating still was that if I used the wireless connection on the PC then suddenly the PC would appear when I browsed the network on the Mac and so for the last few months I have had to settle for that.

Last Friday though I had a few hours that I could once again devote to the problem and previous google searches had thrown up the snippet that the Creator update had wrecked the Master Browser function in Windows and a brief play with this did seem to have real promise. It's quite maddening that on Friday I did 3 things that either individually or collectively have solved the problem totally and I am now back with my full gigabit connectivity.

Firstly I discovered a post from someone that seemed to be an ex Microsoft programmer that made it clear I needed to disable something called SMBv1. SMB for those that want to know stands for Server Message Block and is a protocol that is commonly used in networking and is certainly the one used by my Mac to talk to my PC. Apparently by disabling SMBv1 it forces the computer to use the more secure SMBv2 and the even more efficient SMBv3. To do this you need to open a command prompt window with administrator prvileges and type the following 2 commands pressing enter after each one and then restarting the computer:

sc.exe config lanmanworkstation depend=bowser/mrxsmb20/nsi

sc.exe config mrxsmb10 start=disabled

Obviously what I should have done was see if this alone had solved my problem but me being me I started the process of installing the Windows 10 Creator Fall update and couldnt interupt it to check, silly boy. After the update fell over once and had to be restarted it did however install on the second attempt. The main reason for me wanting to install this update so soon after it had been released was I had noticed so many people complaining that Windows had broken the Master Browser in the previous update that I was hoping that they had fixed it in this one. A triumph of hope over experience I know. Once this had installed and I had restarted a couple of times I was keen to try my ethernet connection and it was at this moment a new problem reared its head. The ethernet connection would connect straight away but every couple of minutes it would keep the network connection but drop the internet and then the internet would come back but only for a couple of minutes before repeating the cycle. 

This was a new problem, the first thing to do was to make sure the latest driver was installed which Windows assured me that the adapter already had the best driver available. I did however go onto the manufacturer of the card's website and downloaded the same driver and installed that one instead. Still the same problem, damn it. So as a last resort I found a driver that was dated 2009 and was suitable for a 64bit version of Windows XP, I forced the installation of that driver instead of the latest one and hey presto all of my network problems have been solved, yaaayyyy.

I am writing this blog whilst drinking a glass of champagne, cos I bloody well deserve it!!

It seems that the must have item in every home at the moment is a "Fidget Spinner", something of a craze that until I tried one seemed completely pointless to me. The relevant phrase though is "until I tried one", something very weirdly satisfying and calming about having this strange object spinning around on your finger! 

What became clear though is that you need a good quality "spinner" to really get teh best out of it. Have a look at this one on our website:

Either search for "Pure Copper Fidget Spinner" or for "SC00232459" and just think what a great promotional gift for your customers these would make for at Christmas this year. Certainly for me these are more effective than the good old fashioned stress ball and a much more quality gift feel to it. We have a large range of these must have gifts this year so if a copper ships wheel is not your thing how about one of these:

These are made from a copper alloy and can be either lasered or engraved with a logo, search for SC00231835 for all the details. Just remember that whatever else you do this Christmas make sure you keep your customers spinning!!

A few years ago marketing guru's in America claimed that you should change your logo every few years and I thought at the time it seemed a bit extreme but my toils over the weekend might just have convinced me otherwise. 

Having succumbed to much pressure from the wife I very reluctantly put my old decorating clothes on and opened a tin of paint for the first time in many years. I loathe deocrating personally as I spent most of my teens doing it rather than getting out enjoying myself. I have to say though that the result does appear to be a spectacular improvement as this picture illustrates:

Unfortunately I might well be a victim of my own success, aaaarrrrgghhh!!

However maybe it's time you consider doing a similar thing to your own brand and see if you can achieve a similarly spectacular improvement in your company's image.

If any of the following are true then it really is time to act:

• Your brand has changed its name.
• Your company has modified its service or product offerings.
• You haven't changed your logo in over a decade.
• Your current logo was not professionally designed and could be improved.

Any of those ring true? If so come and talk to us and revitalise your company image.

Where has this year gone to? In exactly 12 weeks time it will be Christmas again and I've only just gotten rid of the excess packaging from the last one, and I mean the wrapping paper not the excess packaging I put on personally. It's quite incredible but every year I do my charity bike ride around mid Septemvber and every year when I go it's still the end of summer but when I get back just typically 5 days later it is quite definitely autumn. It seems that the trees pick just those 5 days to shed all their leaves, amazing. I know everybody says it and I know the theorys that attempt to explain it but every year goes by quicker than the last one.

At the moment we have our Halloween / November the 5th slider active.

It won't be long now until I need to change this for a much more Christmassy one. The industry has changed so much in recent years with the number of companies sending physical Christmas cards declining every year in favour of eCards. The numbers though are still very impressive, the UK sends more cards per person than any other nation, an average of 33 each. Greeting cards are stocked in more retail outlets than any other product with one in six retailers offering them for sale.

The very first commercial Christmas card was invented in 1846 by Sir Henry Cole who was the chief organiser of the Great Exhibition, pioneer of the penny post and founder of the V&A Museum. One of his first Christmas cards that he sent to his grandmother recently sold at auction for £22,500, wow. His first card however was a bit controversial because it pictured several people holding glasses of wine thus associating the Holy Christmas and alchohol which many deemed offensive.

The greeting card industry is still worth £1.75 billion per year with Christmas cards accounting for over 60% of all cards sold so perhaps it's a bit early to be consigning them to the annuls of history just yet. Maybe the corporate Christmas card will make a comeback soon, I can only hope so.

Well I say, what a great weekend. Saturday which was just a good day that I managed to get lots of little jobs done around the house and my daughters new car plus some eBay work finished off with a few of us going up to a place in London called the Munich Cricket Cllub. This took me back to the days when we visited DRUPA in Dusseldorf. DRUPA is the biggest printing exhibition in the world and happens currently every four years. Apart from the vast array of new printing machinery on view the main highlight (for me anyway) was what we referred to as the Oompah tent. An enourmouse marquee in a square in the centre of the exhibition where very buxom ladies served beer in litre steins and pork knuckle by the 1000's and the Oompah band played loud and long. I dont ever recall them doing Waterloo before!

Waterloo from Roger Oxford on Vimeo.

Sunday was a real treat, I ended up at Duxford Aerodrome for the annual Battle of Britain airshow where so many old warbirds have been so lovingly restored and kept flying so that video clips like this one can still be taken.

Lancaster from Roger Oxford on Vimeo.

Truly amazing sights and sounds. Waterloo by Abba being played by an Oompah band and the incredible sound of 4 Merlin engines singing in harmony.

Even without the airshow Duxford is a wonderful place to visit and the aircraft etc on display are really awe inspiring.

I just hope next weekend can live up to this one.

I've ridden my bike in some fairly gruelling conditions before but never have I struggled to only average 10mph between Calais and Boulogne. That was thanks to the effects of Storm Aileen. For quite some time actually starting our chariry bike ride on the bikes was seriously in question, all sorts of contingency plans were being put into place to get 106 riders and their bikes from Calais to Le Touquet by train as constant wind speeds of 28-40mph and gusts of up to 65mph were forecast for the coast road to our destination on te first day.

Because everyone really wants to do the whole ride we decided that so long as we kept together in small groups and were wary of the conditions we would give it a go, anyway how bad can a little bit of wind make it!! Brutal doesn't even come close, on a route that I have done a few times before always being able to average 15mph plus even without the aid of any peloton, storm Aileen made 10mph in a group a real struggle. The point was really rammed home when at the top of the climb pictured above there is a normally glorious descent that makes the climb worth every pedal stroke. But on Wednesday the wind was so strong and against you that to achieve a speed in double figures down hill you actually needed to pedal quite hard. The overall effect was that the 25 miles between Calais and Boulogne was actually just one long 25 mile climb with varying degrees of difficulty from hard to almost impossible. Even though we turned inland a bit from Boulogne to Le Touquet for the last 20 miles, a 45 mile ride that should have taken just under 3 hours actually took almost 5.

The physical effort that day 1 of the ride extracted from everyone affected day 2 and a relatively easy 100 miles (if thats even possible) was made to seem like double that. It was just simply a matter of survival and when the hotel in Amiens came into view it was one of the loveliest most welcome sights I have ever experienced. A very good nights sleep and an enjoyable breakfast later and suddenly all is right with the world again and with the usual exception of being rather saddle sore I was looking forward to completing the last 108 miles of the ride. Probably mainly psychological but I felt much stronger on the last day of the ride and enjoyed those last miles. As we ended up in Reims it seemed only fitting to have a little glass to celebrate the achievement and also the considerable money raised for an excellent cause.

If you feel we deserve your support please click here and donate anything no matter how large or small.

I came across a very interesting survey recently regarding branded clothing, the main points being:

• 91% of those questioned used branded clothing.
• 46% of that was for Exhibitions.
• 42% for Brand Awareness.
• 35% for Staff Uniforms.
• 27% for Promotions.
• 26% for Give-aways.
• 18% for Staff Fun Days.
• 17% for Conferences.
• 14% for Charity Events.

Firstly the headline figure that 91% of the companies that responded use some form of corporate clothing, that is certainly a higher figure than I imagined it would be. What wasn't a surprise was the percentage of T Shirts and Polo Shirts in comparison to other garments although I can't help thinking that branded baseball caps should have been in there somewhere and reasonably high up on the list too. 

Also of interest is the breakdown of what prompted the purchase of the garments in the first place. We certainly have experience producing garments for Charity events, Staff Uniforms and Conferences. We would also agree that quality is almost always the most important factor with price coming behind that. With that in mind we nearly always advise DTG printing for T Shirts and embroidery for Polo Shirts. The variety of fabrics that can be Direct To Garment printed is growing all the time and as printing speeds become ever faster, DTG that was normally used for short runs is more and more competitive on longer runs as well.

All of this is pretty good news for those companies that want to provide branded clothing to their staff and have some give-aways at exhibitions as the price per garment is coming down and the quality is going up.

Why not click through here to see what you can get these days.

Well the truth is, not a lot. As my children are both grown up and doing their own things paying the ridiculously inflated prices to do anything during the school holidays is a total anathema to my soul. As business naturally quietens down during August it is a chance to catch up on accounts work and look at new ideas to grow. Sorting out some teething problems with new customer branded websites is happening and looks like being quite exciting in the very near future. In actual fact as soon as I get back from my charity bike ride I think we will start rolling them out on a regular basis. 

My business partner has been away which meant that the last week and a bit of August was quite busy for me personally but at least boredom was not a problem. Now we are into September suddenly the level of ecquiries etc starts to take off and we brace ourselves for a good end to the year. It does seem that 2017 has flown past but that could just be that I'm getting older and each year goes quicker anyway. 

I need to stop blogging and start to prepare my bike for 250 miles of trying to keep up with the group I'm hoping to ride with. Only 9 more days to go, aaarrrrggggghhhhh!!

My charity bike ride is fast approaching, way too fast if you ask me! Althbough I have been able to complete quite a few 15 - 30 mile rides longer distances have been very sadly lacking this year. Last weekend was taken up by the incredibly good airshow held annualy in Eastbourne, imaginatvely called "Airbourne". The Red Arrows put on a marvellous display as always and the weather on the Sunday allowed for some new manouveres that were very exciting and the lack of any real cloud gave them the chance to draw their heart in the sky.

Visually quite stunning. Anyway, that put paid to any training last weekend and now a wedding in Newcastle, an 800 mile round trip for me from where I live, will eliminate any cylce training this weekend and very probably do the exact opposite!!

That said I am really looking forward to the ride as the cameradarie is the most intense I have ever witnessed, especially around the 70 mile mark each day when fatigue is really setting in and everyone, well everyone of my standard, is beginning to struggle. 

More importantly knowing that a large amount of money is being raised to help the really sick, often terminally ill children that so badly need the help makes it all worth while in the end.

All the riders are totally self funded and so every penny donated goes to help the children through smaller charities that don't have large overheads and staff on 6 figure salaries!!

Any donation, no matter how small will be very gratefully received.

Vistaprint launched in 1999 and has gone from a pure start-up print company to an internet giant with over $2 billion in annual sales.

It did so because it introduced a totally new business model, that of only having an on-line presence. An industry commited to customer service delivered by company representatives who worked long and hard to build long lasting relationships with the decision makers of the clients in their given territory was suddenly turned upside down. The printing industry was slow to appreciate that for a very large percentage of both the jobs that were wanted and the people that had to order them a quick, no fuss on-line solution was just ideal. To so many customers it didn't matter that they'd used a small J-Peg logo instead of the crisp and clear vector graphic that their usual printer had on file. It didn't even matter if the job wasn't quite as expected first time round, it was so cheap and so quick you just did it again.

The very same type of disruptive technology is just starting to appear in the Promotional Products industry which is why Pulsar Print Management, having learnt lessons from the printing side of the business where we had to play catch-up for a while, is beginning to launch individual sites with every product already branded with your logo and available to order immediatley on-line.

The only difference is there will still be our high level of customer care, quality control and value going on, it will just be behind the scenes or more accurately, behind your screen. We are planning on being able to roll out our new fully e-commerce sites from mid-September. Please do contact us if you would like to be first on the list. These sites will have an ever growing list of items available to order but they will run in tandem with our main site where if its possible to have your logo on it you can find it there.

We hope you will be suitably impressed.