B2 | The Nassau Guardian | Monday, March 4, 2013 ➘ thenassauguardian.com

BUSINESS

In touch with your tablet needsWe all know the pur-

pose of technology isto make life simpler.

The technology industry isconstantly finding ways tomake our lives more conven-ient. Modern tablets are aperfect example. What do youdo when your laptop's toocumbersome and yourphone's too small? Get atablet. Tablets are that criticallink between functionalityand portability.

In today's market, when youhear the word tablet, mostpeople automatically think ofthe Apple iPad. In 2010, theircombination of design, func-tionality and impeccable mar-keting catapulted them totablet computer success.

However, the iPad is certain-

ly not the only tablet on themarket. As companies withinthe tech industry begin to un-derstand how consumers usetechnology on a daily basis,

they tweak the hardware andsoftware to better accommo-date consumer needs. Onceyou can determine yourneeds as a consumer, you canthen look for the tablet thatwill function best for you.

Let's compare three of thetop tablets on the market.

Apple iPadOnce again, design and func-tionality are paramount. TheiPad brand is one that hasgrown by leaps and boundssince the launch of the firstiPad in 2010. Since then,there's been a new iPad seem-ingly at every turn. Apple isstill the best OS (operating sys-tem) when it comes to applica-tions, as there are thousandsavailable to users of the iOS.

Samsung Galaxy Tab The Samsung Galaxy Tab wasone of the first real competi-tors to the iPad. Like the iPad,The Galaxy Tab is ideal for theconsumer, as it focuses on of-fering an excellent multi-me-dia experience. Also, becauseit runs on the Android OS, theGalaxy Tab offers consumers amore customized feel thanwith Apple products.

Microsoft SurfaceThe recently launched Mi-crosoft Surface has a done acareful job to focus not onlyon general consumer needsbut more so those of the busi-ness person.

Anyone who uses MicrosoftOffice applications wouldhave to download certain

apps with other tablets in or-der to open, read and editfiles. Using a Microsoft tablettakes away the need for suchapps and promises a morestreamlined use of MicrosoftOffice.

Overall, as a consumer, it'simportant not to simply buyinto the hype. Determineyour needs, do your research,and you'll be certain to findthe tablet that's right for you.

Here are some further com-parisons:

Screen Size:Microsoft Surface – 10.6 inchesApple iPad 4 – 9.7 inchesSamsung Galaxy Tab 2 – 10.1inchesRear Camera Recording:Microsoft Surface – 720p

Apple iPad 4 – 1080p HDSamsung Galaxy Tab 2 – 720p

Microsoft Surface has full-size USB connectivity, a mi-croSD card slot and an HDvideo out port – three keyports that the iPad 4 doesn'thave.• Online Edge is a weekly fea-ture aiming to improve how youinteract with technology. Formore information on this arti-cle, you can send an email tocustomerservice@bahamaslo-cal.com, or call 676-2683. Ba-hamasLocal.com is a user-friendly search engine with ex-clusive listings on business andcommunity organizations in TheBahamas. It includes informa-tion pertaining to business,news, classifieds, movie listingsand local events.

ONLINE EDGEJason McDowall

GB Shipyard prepares for cruise shipsGraham Couser, senior vice

president of sales andmarketing at the Grand

Bahama Shipyard, released amid-year report on the yard’s2012/13 season and was opti-mistic for the balance of theyear and the continued quest tobe a ‘one-stop shop’ shipyard.

During September 2012 andthrough to April 2013 the yard isexpecting to work on 17 cruiseships. The Carnival Dreamdocked in September 2012, fol-lowed by Carnival Conquest andCarnival Glory; each having the‘Captain’s Suites’ added to thetop of the bridge/wheelhouse.

“The Grand Bahama Shipyardperformed these refits as a‘turnkey’ project,” stated Couser.“This turnkey approach hasbeen in development with Car-nival Cruise Lines for a few yearsand is now coming to fullfruition.” Couser noted that theturnkey projects are a result of asuccessful work completed onthe Carnival Valor in 2011 at theyard.

The year 2012 finished withEmerald Princess of the HollandAmerica Line as well as theZuiderdam and Ryndam, all vis-iting the yard for routine main-tenance dockings. “Simultane-ously in 2012, we were a part ofthe Princess Cruises ADG (addi-tional diesel generator) pro-

gram,” noted Couser. “A pro-gram designed to reduce portemissions.” GBSY fabricated ahull section for the CoralPrincess. to contain a Wartsilasupplied diesel generator anda GEC supplied alternator (forelectricity generation), securedto the fabricated block. Upon

the vessel’s arrival, a section ofthe hull of the ship was cut outand the new unit transportedto the dock and successfully in-stalled and welded back inplace in 14 days.

This major project whichalso included onboard revital-izing projects started 2013 at a

great pace at the yard and thiscontinued with the SeabournLegend, Holland America Lines’Statenda” and Carnival’s Fasci-nation and Fantasy – the lattertwo projects included majorsteel replacements.

“We are now catching ourbreath and starting pre-fabrica-

tion of aluminium structuresthat will, when erected to posi-tion house some 40 additionalcabins onboard the CelebrityConstellation when it visits theyard in April,” said the vicepresident. “This is the last offour such revitalization proj-ects, with all being successfully

delivered by the yard on time.” Furthering the overall goal

of creating the “one stop shop”yard, the Grand Bahama Ship-yard has introduced roboticblasting techniques and equip-ment, employing such meth-ods effectively reduced time en-gaged in hull blasting, makingthe task safer and more effi-cient than traditional blasting.The units currently being usedare the most recent evolutiondesigned and produced byChariot Robotics, GBSY is thefirst yard in the world to usethese units and Chariot is pro-viding training on operationand maintenance of theseunits.

In late April the NCL Pearland the Holland America LinesNieuw Amsterdam dock forroutine maintenance pro-grams. Regarding future yarddevelopments, Couser waskeen to note that the companyis pleased with the develop-ment of the ‘outfit berth’, for-mally known as “North Beach”.“Construction of a new sea wallis in progress,” he explained.“With completion scheduledfor late 2013 we will have a fully-serviced berth with 40 and 80ton crane capacity and a largelay-down area suitable for pre-fabrication of outfitted units.”

From September2012 through toApril 2013 theGrand BahamaShipyard isexpecting to workon 17 cruise ships.FILE

CBL opens new GB data centerCable Bahamas Ltd. just

opened its new state-of-the-art data center on

Grand Bahama, the first of itskind on the island. The facility,located in the heart of Freeport,complements Cable Bahamas'existing data center located atthe Robinson Road complex inNassau.

The Grand Bahama Data Cen-tre provides hosting facilitiesfor clients as well as disaster re-covery and business continuityservices. Attracting clients fromthe financial services industry,as well as government and pri-vate enterprises, clients wel-come the new data center as itnow gives them geographic di-versity within The Bahamas.

With data centers in NewProvidence and Grand Bahama,businesses based on each is-land can locate their backupservers and data storage on theother island. A natural disasterthreatening their home baseoperation is unlikely to affectthe backup systems located atthe data center on the other is-land.

Even though the data centersare more than 120 miles apart,they are connected by Cable Ba-hamas' own all-fiber optic datanetwork. This eliminates laten-cy issues and allows companiesto quickly and transparentlyswitch to the alternate siteshould it become necessary.

As Cable Bahamas owns andoperates its own sub-sea fibersystem, within The Bahamasand extending to the UnitedStates, high-speed connectivityup to OC-48 speeds for offshoreclients and up to 10Gb/s for on-shore clients provides the un-matched reliability and securi-

ty that the company's clientsdemand. The Grand BahamaData Centre provides 24/7 avail-ability and the safe physical en-vironment for mission criticaldata applications.

Commercial Sales DirectorAndre Knowles said, "I ampleased to be a part of this his-toric event, where we can pro-vide a facility of this kind to ouroffshore and onshore clients."

Knowles said that a data cen-ter of this kind actually protectsa business' ability to continuetheir operation when disastersstrike. "A business with onlineoperations and vital data pro-cessing needs – which are mostbusinesses today – cannot af-ford any downtime. Our twodata centers virtually eliminatedowntime," Knowles said.

The data center facilities arehoused within a secure, con-crete and steel structure. It issupported by dual UPS (uninter-ruptable power supply) systems,as well as backup generators, re-dundant water-chilled air han-dling systems and smoke andfire suppression systems.

Operations Manager of theCable Bahamas Freeport officeEdris Wilson stated, "We are de-lighted that a data center ofthis kind is on the island ofGrand Bahama. With its state-of-the-art design and infrastruc-ture, our clients can feel safeand secure."

The Grand Bahama Data Cen-tre provides clients with fullrack and half rack space op-tions. The center was designed,built and maintained by CableBahamas' own Bahamian engi-neering team and is constantlymonitored by the company'sNetwork Operations Centre.