eNewsWire

Seymourpowell, the leading design and innovation company, has extended its design repertoire yet again with the design of a radical new saddle.

The Quantum AMS Saddle has been 10 years in design and development and is set to turn the saddle market on its head. A traditional saddle exterior belies the formula one technology underneath and brings true innovation to a market that has been unchanged for 200 years. Read more…

A company’s computer network is the nerve centre of the business which all operations rely upon. However the cost of maintaining an in-house IT department can require a large investment, both in terms of resources and finance.

With a recession looming many companies are opting to reduce or cut their spends and the first things to be assessed can be the in-house IT department.

Outsourcing IT responsibilities can provide a company with reduced expenditure and the ability reallocate resources to better effect. However, if the wrong support IT support company is selected the effects could be disastrous impacting upon efficiency, productivity and even competitive advantage.

DMC Software’s Top Five Tips for selecting a competent IT support company can provide businesses with help top reduce IT expenditure and the risk associated with IT outsourcing. Read more…

Butterflies and Elvis is the debut international release from 18 year-old Icelandic singing sensation, Yohanna. The ‘vibey’, catchy album could best be described as a mix of inspirational pop and arrestingly soulful vocals.

Already a multi-platinum star in her own country, she was signed by Sony’s Tommy Mattola at 13 and has since been working with some of the industry’s biggest names. Lee Horrocks, who shares the album’s song writing credits with the singer, calls her voice remarkable. “It’s something I’ve never seen before,” he says. “It’s very pure, very original.” Veteran recording engineer Thomas Yezzi has his own explanation. “She’s an 18 year-old, white Icelandic girl with the soul of a 50 year-old black woman. She’s really amazing.” Read more…

Renting a car in Iceland can be perilously expensive, and the roads are not always suitable for squeezing more than one person into a tiny hatchback. Sometimes you just need something a little bigger; but I never seem to be able to afford it.

Luckily I have some ingenious friends – or should I say friends with burglar alarmed wallets – who always know where the best deals are to be had. These people have actually had me waiting out on the dockside at six in the morning waiting to “save money on fish”. It’s sensible practice of course, but still it takes a special type of person.

In this instance though, they did me proud. Reykjavik Rent a Car is a small Iceland car rental company which I would probably never have heard about on my own.

Not only does Reykjavik Rent a Car offer brand new heavy duty 4x4s for less than some of their bigger rivals offer a Volkswagen Polo, but they are also genuinely decent people with whom it was a pleasure to do business.

Having secured the car for a few days, it was time to put it through its paces. My sister was visiting Iceland from Brazil, where she works with Amazon River Dolphins in some conservation programme. Not a lot of snow in Brazil.

My sister is mad about skiing, and she was almost scarily excited about coming over here and trying out the Blafjoll ski slopes near Reykjavik. But the Icelandic weather rarely plays ball, and had decided that we were not to be blessed with snow.

This is where Reykjavik Rent a Car came in: we decided to drive around Iceland to the far north-western town of Isafjordur – a place where the snowy mountains demand to be noticed almost as much as Bjork wearing a swan and screaming “It’s oh so quiet!” at the top of her voice. We were sure there would be snow on the slopes up there.

Driving Iceland’s Westfjords in the winter is a hair-raising experience. The gravel roads are generally covered in a thick layer of ice as they navigate hairpin turns and sheer cliff drops. The views are spectacular and a confident driver in a trustworthy vehicle can really have a LOT of fun. Anybody else would surely suffer some sort of panic attack.

It is perhaps telling of my lack of skiing ability that this story should have focused so heavily on the journey up there – but we did find plenty of snow and my sister did get her fill of the piste before heading back to the sweaty tropics. Mission accomplished – thanks to Reykjavik Rent a Car.

For more information or to book a low price rental car in Iceland, visit www.reykjavikrentacar.is

Key trekking destinations are more popular than ever, according to specialist operators, The Adventure Company.

Bookings to both Nepal and Morocco are almost 10 per cent ahead of the same time last year, showing that active travellers are the most determined to stride on with their holiday plans says the company.

Trekking trips to the Mera Peak Trek in Nepal and Winter Toubkal in Morocco are currently the best sellers.

‘More people than ever are travelling to Nepal and nearly 500 have already booked trips for 2009, proving that unique long haul destinations are not being ruled out despite the economic situation at the moment.’ says Nicky MacFarlane, product director from The Adventure Company

‘We have found from customer feedback that our trekking holidays are exceptional value for money, due to their relatively low costs and all inclusive nature.’ Read more…

Located 55km from Reykjavik, Tjarnabyggd is offering the unique opportunity to invest in solid, fertile land in a peaceful area surrounded by magnificent nature and close to a large bird conservation reserve.

Residential land on the south coast is now available as a great investment opportunity in Iceland for individuals and families, as well as investors, to build houses, establish small farms for keeping domestic animals, small scale land cultivation or other related activities.

The land covers an area of 600 hectares divided into 61 clusters. Each cluster consists of 6 plots of about 10.000 m2 each. Individual plots may be bought as well as more clusters depending on the size of land investors wish to acquire. The clusters are separated by walkways and 5m wide riding tracks.

Activities such as horse riding, farmhouse accommodation, and horticulture are all very well suited to the region with fertile soil and diverse riding tracks and good pasture ideal for those keeping horses.

The size of the Iceland land investment plots ranges from 1 – 6 hectares. There is no heavy industry on the south coast of Iceland, the tap water is of excellent quality and the land is provided with communal geothermal heated water – for home heating and baths, but also great for any hot tubs or greenhouses.

Tjarnabyggd counts as a suburb, only 4km from the centre of Selfoss. Selfoss is the major town in the area and offers a wide range of services, such as shops, post office, bars, tradesmen and companies providing technical services.

For more information visit the company’s website www.tjarnabyggd.is.

Bindibazar.co.uk is offering a 50% discount on orders for its popular Chandrama and Chand tote bags which now cost just £10 and £11 respectively. The bags form part of a range of items made by women in India who collect and recycle old carrier bags and turn them into something unique and beautiful.

“These bags make ideal Christmas gifts for socially and/or environmentally aware people” says Rita Sabharwal, founder of BindiBazar. “Making the bags provides a livelihood for women who would otherwise struggle to survive, whilst also cleaning up the local environment”.

The offer applies until to orders placed before midnight on December 17th. Buyers should email rita@bindibazar.co.uk BEFORE placing their order to claim the discount. Read more…

The Times and The Sunday Times popular Books for Schools campaign is back.

It offers every school in the country, primary and secondary, the chance to increase the number of books in its library – absolutely free.

On offer are books for all ages from such well known children’s writers as Michael
Rosen, Charlie Higson, Axel Scheffler, Jacqueline Wilson, Anthony Horowitz,
Michael Morpurgo, as well as much-loved classics from C.S Lewis and Roald Dahl.

Titles are available for ages 3-7, 7-9, 9-11 and 11-14.

Schools’ registration is now open, with an incentive of 100 bonus tokens for each school if they sign up before 30 November. From January 2009, on every day during each of the three school terms, readers of The Times and The Sunday Times can collect tokens that can be exchanged for free books. With books on offer for as little as ten tokens, schools will soon benefit from hundreds of free books. Read more…

Reader’s Digest, one of the UK’s most trusted brands, has launched a new energy switching service called RDswitch.com. In a credit crunch climate, and with many facing a New Year of financial hardship, customers are reporting high utility bills and need a fast and cheap solution. As fuel bills rise, it is vital to find the best deal for gas and electricity.

RDswitch.com is the answer; a quick and simple site to use which offers customers an average saving per annum per household of £233. Gwen P comments, “It was quite an eye opener! It was quick and straightforward and we were amazed at the savings we could make – and will no doubt switch.”

RDswitch.com searches for the best prices and can take in to account service levels, green energy and loyalty schemes. With thousands of tariff and payment options the customer can be assured RDswitch.com will find the best tariff. The site also guides the customer through all the payment options available and clearly points out any benefits that certain methods of payment may attract. Howard T comments, “RDswitch.com allows you to access in minutes all the information you need to make an informed decision. I particularly like how you can compare the features and benefits of each supplier, and how you can prioritise your search according to what you need from a supplier.” Read more…

Today’s Bank of England base rate cut from 3.0% to 2.0% will boost the buy-to-let sector by more than £400 million, according to property portfolio managers, Young Group.

Furthermore, Young Group has identified that, all told, this year’s cuts in base rate from 5.5% to the current level of 2.0% has boosted the buy-to-let sector to the tune of £1.4 billion*.

Investors see their income from property taxed – typically at 40 pence in the pound – which means that the Treasury’s annual take of the revenue could amount to £560 million, representing £80 million for each and every 0.5% drop in rates.

“December’s 1.0% rate cut alone saw investors with tracker mortgages provide an additional Read more…

Menzis WMO Support – the support division of Dutch health insurance carrier Menzis – chooses the Mendix platform for supporting municipalities with the implemention of the “social support act”.

Menzis, a large health Insurance carrier in the Netherlands, choose the Mendix software solution after an intensive selection procedure. Menzis will use the Mendix platform to streamline and support processes for the social support act.

The Mendix platform allows business analysts to represent business requirements using precise visual models, which become executable components, without the need to write (or test) code. The result is a solution with a rich dynamic user interface which easily integrates with all mainstream technologies and existing package solutions, via established open standards such as web services. Read more…