Dogsbody Technology will be closed for a few days in December as the UK celebrates Christmas. We hope you will join us in giving our staff a well earned break.
This year we will be open on the working days between Christmas and New year but with reduced staff numbers. Responses to emails and phone calls maybe delayed as our staff prioritise work as required.
Thu 15 Dec 2022 – Office closed from 14.00 (for our December party)
…
Fri 23 Dec 2022 – Office closed from 13:00
Mon 26 Dec 2022 – Office closed for UK Public Holiday
Tues 27 Dec 2022 – Office closed for UK Public Holiday
Wed 28 Dec 2022 – Normal office hours with reduced staff
Thur 29 Dec 2022 – Normal office hours with reduced staff
Fri 30 Dec 2022 – Normal office hours with reduced staff
Mon 02 Jan 2023 – Office closed for UK Public Holiday
Support
During this time, response to emails maybe slower than usual and any issues will be dealt with on an emergency out of hours basis. We will be supporting customers who are experiencing a situation where business cannot function without a resolution such as Website / Server down and inability to trade online.
Emergency issue
Contact us as normal. All calls and support emails will be routed to our on call engineer who will prioritise work as required.
Maintenance customers
Customers on our maintenance plans will not notice any difference. Systems and infrastructure will continue to be patched, maintained and monitored.
Hosting issues
Our status page will advise of any known internal and hosting server issues. Please do check this page before raising any tickets as the chances are we are already aware.
Normal office hours will resume on Tuesday 03 January 2023.
Wishing you all a safe and healthy Christmas and a Happy 2023
On a, surprisingly, warm day in September, in the beautiful New Forest, Dogsbody Technology had a long overdue team away day. A chance to get away from our desks and a thank you to our staff for all their hard work.
We were rather smug when we complete the first team challenges in record time, although lowering a bamboo cane on your finger tips in a group is harder than it looks!
Whilst we all though of ourselves as the next Game of Thrones extra or Hawkeye it turns out most of us weren’t! But there is nothing like a bit of competition.
Fire building wasn’t on the original agenda, our super fast time at team challenges meant we had some time to spare – so we collected kindling and wood and built ourselves some fire! Luckily we didn’t need to cook our lunch on it which was next up.
The afternoon was low and high rope challenges. Low ropes required more team work, communication and, sometimes, sheer strength – we also got up close and personal with the ‘swing to a small platform and all fit on it’ challenge.
Highropes was in teams of 2 or individually and we literally put our life in our colleagues hands! The pair game was to stack crates on top of each other to make the tallest tower – and stand on it whilst doing it!
Lastly we had some high ropes! A couple of us fell off and have the bruises to prove it
It was a great day away from our desks, in lovely surroundings and fresh air and day light! we definitely all earned our meals afterwards. We hope to go back sometime and do the water activities – maybe in the middle of summer just to be sure 😉
If you are interested in working for a team like this then check out our recruitment pages, if we aren’t currently hiring then add your name to the mailing list to be informed when we are hiring again.
https://www.dogsbody.com/wp-content/uploads/2022-09-20-15.23.23-scaled.jpg19202560Claire Christmashttps://www.dogsbody.com/wp-content/uploads/Dogsbody-site-logo-1.pngClaire Christmas2022-10-24 10:50:502022-10-24 10:50:50Team away day 2022
We are proud to officially sponsor Pride in Surrey and would like to invite you to join us in supporting this great cause.
The main event happens on 27th August 2022 in Camberley. A festival and parade will make Camberley the host of the largest Pride in Surrey event yet boasting performances from Sonia, Savior, Eden Hunter, Eva I Guess, Apple Sourz, Connor, Dylan Holloway, Kiki, Johnny Mack, V?K, Cielle Joelle, Carmel Fleur, Jacquii Cann & Seann Miley Moore.
Pride is a time for us to reflect on the progress made towards LGBTQ+ equality and to acknowledge the fact that we stand on the shoulders of all those who have fought so hard over the years to achieve this. It is also a time for us to acknowledge that we still have so much more to do.
We are sponsoring Pride in Surrey because the charity behind the event supports individuals all year round. The Pride Hub in Woking has done some amazing outreach and genuinely makes a difference to people. That is what this is all about, helping, encouraging and supporting each other to be what and who we want to be.
– Dan Benton, Director of Dogsbody Technology
The awesome work that Pride in Surrey (Surrey LGBTQ Pride CIC) does never stops. They are a non-profit community interest group with a mission to celebrate, educate and connect the LGBTQ+ community (and allies) across Surrey. Pride in Surrey is run entirely by volunteers, a small team who work all year round on every day projects and campaigns. We are very happy to support them.
Join us to help us ensure that no one is left behind.
Each year Dogsbody Technology donates at least 1% of our profits to good causes, we are very proud that we’re able to make a difference with our charity work.
https://www.dogsbody.com/wp-content/uploads/New_PIS2020_Logo_SOCIAL.png6301200Dan Bentonhttps://www.dogsbody.com/wp-content/uploads/Dogsbody-site-logo-1.pngDan Benton2022-08-18 12:07:052022-08-19 11:40:49Proud sponsors of Pride in Surrey 2022
As people enjoyed the 4 day Jubilee UK Bank holiday with street parties, parades and union jack bunting, Dogsbody Technology staff spent the weekend in a field at Eastnor Castle, Herefordshire for Electromagnetic Field 2022 (EMF Camp).
The event is every 2 years and Dogsbody are no stranger to it having attended three previous EMF’s… but the last one was in 2018 with 2020 (of course) being cancelled.
If anyone asks what Electromagnetic Field is we say “Glastonbury for Geeks”. Featuring super fast 1Gbps symmetrical internet connection and power to your tent, robots galore, multiple geodesic domes, enough LED to see from space, laser beams and tons of workshops, talks and a free to play arcade. This is our kinda place.
The event is also family friendly with childcare and youth workshops available so you can take the kids (if you really want too).
There were hundreds of things to see and do over the 4 day weekend, including 144 talks and 79 workshops. Some of the talks were recorded, we’ll add the relevant links to these once they are live.
Each year, as part of the ticket price, you get a badge…..but this is no ordinary badge.
This years had an array of features including a USB-C plug, display, joystick and buttons. It can connect to wifi and has an app store.
It even has a cryptographic accelerator chip meaning it can be used as a hardware authentication device (equivalent to a YubiKey).
Our favourite bits…
Picking a favourite part of EMF Camp 2022 is hard but here are some of the highlights Dogsbody took away with them.
Claire:This is my 4th EMF camp and everyone has been different. This year I attended less talks but completed a Puzzlehunt – why? Cause we wanted to see what was behind the door in the now infamous Null Sector! We did and it was awesome! Thank you to Dreamcatcher for the hard work that went into creating it!
I also love the commitment people put into creating the fun… EMF Ducks and emfSpiders are my new favourite EMF Camp twitter feeds.
Josh: What struck me most about emf camp is it’s scale, openness, diversity and detail. The more you look the more you see. The more you do the more you find. You can dive deep into one thing or spread yourself and try to absorb it all. Which you won’t be able to do and I’m quite sure that if I could turn back time and rerun the event I could have a wholly unique experience several times over.
From puzzles to arcade games, algorithmic raves to karaoke, geodesic domes to Kraken’s and fire tornadoes – you’ll never see it all. And that’s OK. Serendipity is the joy of it and you just surf the highs – getting top score on Nameco Point Blank; and the lows – sitting alone on a bench in the wind and rain, crying into a burrito having just watched ‘An Engineer’s Guide to Grief’ and stewing on it’s gaze into the abyss of loss.
Most seriously, I’m grateful EMF Camp exists. It serves as a reminder that there are like-minded people out there in the world, people interested in the things you are and open to the things you think, even if your everyday lived experience couldn’t be further from that reality. Four days wasn’t quite enough to lower shields raised to a lifetime of endured indifference. But it did offer a glimpse of what could be. And anyway, there’s always next time.
Ashley: As a Space and Statistics fan, the Astro Pi Mark II talk was one of my favourites. The presentation followed a standard Raspberry pi from the factory in Wales, through rigorous international testing with NASA and everywhere in between. Ending with the Pi finally ending up, fully intact and working, on the International Space Station. In addition to the journey, Richard Hayler gave an explanation of Mission Zero, a Python challenge for young people under 19 to code their own programs to be deployed and run on the International Space Station, something I know my daughter and I will taking a look at.
My main highlight though, has to be melting some brains and destroying everyone at FLUX.
Dan: Where to start! Every time we go to EMF I am in awe of the dedication of everyone that attends. It is the living embodiment of the old adage that the right group of people coming together can easily be greater than the sum of their parts. I’ve seen so many people riffing off of something that someone else said.
Where else will you see event information being distributed by a fully working Teletext system to CRT TV’s around the site…
The highlight for me has to be watching an entire tent erupt into a singalong version of Evanescence (Bring Me To Life) inspired by our own Ashley and Josh. It has already gone down as folklore in the office and I think there may even be a video somewhere but that maybe embargoed 🙂
Stats and Thanks
We geeks love a stat, so here are some from the event:
2,636 checked in (attended)
556 volunteered whilst the event was running, manning talks, videoing talks, logistics, helping in the shop etc
10,800 unique devices seen on the network ( an average of ±3.6 device per visitor)
EMF camp is a completely non-profit event and is entirely organised and run by a dedicated team of volunteers. Whilst we were onsite for 4 days, volunteers had been on-site setting up, and tearing down afterwards, for almost 2 weeks!
A BIG Thank you to all the people who make this event possible!
Here are some of our favourite photos from this years event.
https://www.dogsbody.com/wp-content/uploads/2022-06-04-01.49.03-scaled.jpg19202560Claire Christmashttps://www.dogsbody.com/wp-content/uploads/Dogsbody-site-logo-1.pngClaire Christmas2022-06-10 14:38:532022-06-10 14:38:53Electromagnetic Field 2022
Dogsbody are happy to announce the addition of Awab, our new Linux Systems Engineer.
Having successfully accomplished a degree on Biological Sciences (he is a Co-author of an abstract published to an issue of Allergy Journal, in relation to his 3rd year dissertation) he immediately started his career in technology. Keen to learn more about Linux and Cloud he joined us at Dogsbody! Awab is a fan of MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) and Badminton, we have challenged him to combine the sports 🙂
Awab has now started to help with customer work and is having fun developing his Linux and AWS knowledge.
We’re about to start recruiting again so join our recruitment mailing list if you want to be the first to know when we open up new positions.
https://www.dogsbody.com/wp-content/uploads/pexels-leo-zhao-5767580-scaled.jpg17072560Claire Christmashttps://www.dogsbody.com/wp-content/uploads/Dogsbody-site-logo-1.pngClaire Christmas2022-04-26 09:30:342022-05-25 11:51:49Welcome Awab, our new Linux Systems Engineer
Every year, around Christmas time, Dogsbody Technology gives back. This year we let each member of staff pick a charity for Dogsbody to donate too. Each one has received a percentage of our profits. Here is what they selected…
Dan
Younger people are more susceptible to mental health as they haven’t yet gained the tools they need to deal with these issues as they come along. YoungMinds want to see a world where no young person feels alone with their mental health.
The naked truth project helping improve sex education resources, talking about porn addition and having those awkward difficult discussions with school kids.
As the really cold weather kicks in I cannot begin to imagine what it is like to not have a safe and warm space to call your own. The Hope Hub provides practical support (cooking and IT courses) as well as helping with emergency accommodation.
I chose Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team as they came to the rescue when on an early December mountain hike I discovered two walkers, one with a leg injury, around 900 meters high up on the flanks of Scafell Pike (between Broad Crag and Ill Crag to be precise). I sheltered the walkers and ensured they stayed warm, dry and safe but there was no way I was going to get them off the mountain by myself. Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team got up to us within 5 hours, which is a very quick response time given the location, severe weather conditions and darkness. They then took the casualty back down the mountain for a safe and happy outcome. Duddon and Furness Mountain Rescue Team also attended the rescue and I’ll be donating personally to that team to ensure their efforts are also recognised.
Unfortunately, due to the most of the worlds reliance on China, nothing much is really being done to help the Uyghurs in China right now. This project has been helping to give relief to the refugees who left the country and raise awareness about the genocide that’s happening there. I have donated to them before and know they do good work.
2021 went in a blink of an eye and its that time again for Dogsbody Technology 2021 Christmas holiday.
Our Christmas 2021 holiday covers:
Fri 24 Dec 2021 – Office closed after 13:00
Mon 27 Dec 2021 – Public Holiday
Tues 28 Dec 2021 – Public Holiday
Wed 29 Dec 2021 – Office Closed
Thur 30 Dec 2021 – Office Closed
Fri 31 Dec 2021 – Office Closed
Mon 03 Jan 2022 – Public Holiday
Tues 04 Jan 2022- Normal office hours resume
During this time, response to emails maybe slower than usual and any issues will be dealt with on an emergency out of hours basis. We will only be supporting customers who are experiencing a situation where business cannot function without a resolution such as site / server down and inability to trade online.
Emergency issue
Contact us as normal. All calls and support emails will be routed to our on call engineer who will prioritise work as required.
Maintenance customers
Customers on our maintenance plans will not notice any difference. Systems and infrastructure will continue to be patched, maintained and monitored.
Hosting issues
Our status page will advise of any known internal and hosting server issues. Please do check this page before raising any tickets as the chances are we are already aware.
Normal office hours will resume on Tuesday 04 January 2022.
We hope you have a safe and healthy Christmas and a Happy 2022
Dogsbody are happy to announce the addition of Josh to our award winning team.
Josh joins us as a Linux Systems Engineer. Joining us with a lot of Linux skills that just need honing and expanding.
A former British Army officer (Royal Logistic Corps) and professional photographer, he is also a member of local disaster response charity RE:ACT (formally Team Rubicon UK) and has been deployed delivering lifesaving aid to stricken communities affected by devastating hurricanes/cyclones…so Linux sysadmin should be a breeze!
Josh has now started to help with customer work and is having fun developing his Docker and Kubernetes knowledge.
We’re about to start recruiting again so join our recruitment mailing list if you want to be the first to know when we open up new positions.
https://www.dogsbody.com/wp-content/uploads/lens-490806_1920.jpg12231920Claire Christmashttps://www.dogsbody.com/wp-content/uploads/Dogsbody-site-logo-1.pngClaire Christmas2021-06-22 11:00:162021-06-16 13:47:33Welcome Josh – Linux Systems Engineer
Update: Yes this is an April Fools post. We love to reminisce about the old days (don’t get our director started, he’ll bore you for hours) but unfortunately technology moves on and that’s a good thing. Gone are the days of people bragging about how long their server’s been online… if that’s the case then they probably haven’t been installing kernel updates 😉 Please do get in touch if we can help you update your infrastructure.
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https://www.dogsbody.com/wp-content/uploads/eighties-4376143_640_1.png307639Claire Christmashttps://www.dogsbody.com/wp-content/uploads/Dogsbody-site-logo-1.pngClaire Christmas2021-04-01 04:00:062021-04-01 17:00:01Vintage hosting – running from your past
Hello, I’m Ashley and I’ve just completed my apprenticeship here at Dogsbody Technology and I want to tell you why it was AWESOME!
When I came to Dogsbody I was finishing my first year at University studying Maths & Physics. I chose being an apprentice with Dogsbody rather than continuing with University and have now finished with a distinction, a full-time job and some amazing colleagues.
IT and Linux were completely new to me, but I quickly knew I had made the right decision. I’d be able to use my problem solving, organisational skills and passion for learning whilst working towards my Level 3 Infrastructure Technician qualification. I really grew to love, enjoy and appreciate technology.
Going this route wasn’t without risk but I chose it for the three main reasons, all of which have paid off…
Long days with working and studying separately
Student loan debt
The ability to progress through a career faster and choose the qualifications.
Working and Study Time
Being an apprentice meant I was able to plan my time more effectively. Having evenings and weekends free, without work and study played a large role in looking for an apprenticeship. I didn’t wish to give up education and really enjoy learning but planning time for university studying, lessons, reports & exams was becoming increasingly impossible. Not forgetting time for work, children and a social life.
After joining my apprenticeship I found planning my time a lot easier. I was able to start and finish work at the same time each week. Exams were booked around or in work times and I was able to book more solid childcare.
Student Loan Debt
Instead of paying for education with work (and parenting) on the side, I would be paid to work and learn at the same time!
My income was a set amount each month. Comparing this to variable part-time work wages alongside my university studies, it was much easier to keep track of my finances. I felt much more financially secure with the apprenticeship, even when the monthly wage was sometimes lower than part-time work for the first year.
It is important to check the current minimum wages for Apprenticeships and the National Minimum Wage to check if an apprenticeship will work for you. It’s safe to say that now I’ve finished my apprenticeship I no longer need to worry about this 😉
Progressing through more personalised qualifications quicker
Learning from home using the Open University suited me at the time of applying but it quickly became obvious that it is a difficult way to learn long term.
Most of the jobs I was applying for were asking for practical experiences over qualifications. This meant I had less physical experience to gain whilst at university.
As an apprentice, I was hands-on, working day-to-day and learning through active means to achieve the tasks set. I was able to get advice and lessons from tutors, management and fellow colleagues.
Post Apprenticeship
Since finishing my apprenticeship I’ve been able to use the skills I’ve gained, to progress further and become a full-time Linux Systems Engineer.
I’m excited to continue my further education, system administration training and career with Dogsbody Technology.
Fancy getting a qualification, pay and a very high probability of a permanent job at the end of your apprenticeship? Sign up to our mailing list to be the first to know when we open application for our next intake.
https://www.dogsbody.com/wp-content/uploads/thisisengineering-raeng-pIdteYOzGFY-unsplash-scaled.jpg17082560Ashley Hollandhttps://www.dogsbody.com/wp-content/uploads/Dogsbody-site-logo-1.pngAshley Holland2021-02-08 09:54:352024-03-12 14:59:48Being an Apprentice at Dogsbody
The event is every 2 years and Dogsbody are no stranger to it having attended three previous EMF’s… but the last one was in 
There were hundreds of things to see and do over the 4 day weekend, including 144 talks and 79 workshops. Some of the talks were recorded, we’ll add the relevant links to these once they are live.
Dogsbody are happy to announce the addition of Awab, our new Linux Systems Engineer.
