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• Microsoft points to October end-of-support for older Office apps accessing 365 services
  Microsoft recently reminded customers that starting Oct. 13 the company will not support older versions of Office applications connecting to Office 365 and Microsoft 365 services.[ Related: Microsoft makes 'major-minor' Windows 10 release cadence the new normal ] In a support document dated July 20, Microsoft listed the applications that will be "supported for connecting to […]
• Windows by the numbers: Windows 10, Windows 7 pause their ups and downs
  Windows 10 took a breather in July, perhaps celebrating its fifth birthday with a little too much adult beverage and – although the share data was deceptive – essentially remained flat for the month.According to California analytics company Net Applications, Windows 10 purportedly grew by four-tenths of a percentage points to reach 59.4% of global […]
• Memory-Lane Monday: Wherefore art thou CIO?
  This city-government IT group reverts to using two-way radios because staffers aren’t answering their cellphones when needed, reports a pilot fish on the scene.So fish dusts off the old call-sign sheet, but the new staff members want better call signs than the stodgy “Tech1,” “Tech2” and so on. One, who is ex-military, suggests using each […]
• Q&A: CBT Architects CIO sees a ‘hybrid’ remote-work plan as harder than WFH
  Editor's note: This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.Adopting remote work company-wide was a tall order during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, says Nirva Fereshetian, CIO at Boston-based architecture and interior design firm CBT Architects. But supporting a “hybrid” workforce will be an even bigger challenge as staffers look to […]
• Apple’s retail technology play
  Apple Retail taught the company a great deal concerning the future of retail, and a quiet technology acquisition shows it intends to go with the retail flow as it invests in a system that turns iPhones into POS payment systems.Apple Pay and Apple Payments While we already use Apple Pay to purchase items contact free […]
• Top web browsers 2020: Firefox ends a sorta/kinda recovery as share losses return
  Google's Chrome added more to its total of utter domination last month as a small recovery by Mozilla's Firefox screeched to a halt in July.According to data published Saturday by metrics vendor Net Applications, Chrome's share during July rose eight-tenths of a percentage point, the most since March, to 71%. The browser has been on […]
• Redefining productivity and compensation in an AI age
  This week I ran into an interesting product that could substantially speed up writers who do a lot of repetitive work. It's called ActiveWords, and it's now in its fourth generation. It works by allowing you to connect elements to acronyms you create.   For instance, if you must use the same charts in different responses, such […]
• Office 365: A guide to the updates
  Office 365 and Microsoft 365 subscribers always have the latest version of Microsoft Office — currently Office 2019. They also get more frequent software updates than those who have purchased Office 2019 without a subscription, which means subscribers have access to the latest features, security patches and bug fixes. But it can be hard to […]
• Despite an unexpected monkey wrench, now is the time to install the July Windows and Office patches
  The folks at Microsoft have pretty much exterminated the bugs they introduced in July’s patches. The Outlook-killing bug got fixed by an emergency update to Microsoft’s own servers. The Win7 .NET patch was fixed and re-released nine days after paying Win7 Extended Security customers started bellyaching.  To read this article in full, please click here
• Tech event calendar 2020: Upcoming shows, conferences and IT expos
  Tech Events Event Description Starts Ends Location Google Cloud Next '20 (Online only) Google Cloud Next is where the company announces the latest updates to the Google Cloud Platform. The conference also offers educational, networking and hands-on opportunities for its more than 10,000 attendees. This year it will feature online offerings every Tuesday, and runs […]
• 11 essential business management insights from Apple’s Q3
  Apple set a June quarter record in the quarter just gone, buoyed by strong iPad and Mac sales and a wave of iPhone SE upgrades.You can read all about its fiscal news here, but the company also shared some points that may be of interest to any enterprise struggling to pivot its business during the […]
• The best office apps for Android
  The days of taking care of business exclusively in an office are over. You've got a powerful productivity gadget in your pocket practically 24/7, after all — and with the right set of apps, you can stay synced with the same spreadsheets, documents, and presentations that are on your desktop and work with them seamlessly […]
• Flashback Friday: Oh, did I say 30 DAYS?
  This pilot fish gets an email from a user who can’t open the program used to track equipment calibration, so she takes the short walk to the user’s desk. There, she finds that the user is getting a “data file not found” message when he tries to open the program.Says fish: “I opened the sample […]
• What's in the latest Firefox upgrade? Firefox 79 adds under-the-hood improvements, but no pizzaz
  Mozilla this week upgraded Firefox to version 79, patching 10 vulnerabilities without making any notable changes that users will see.Of the 10 security bugs, Mozilla marked four as "High," the browser's second-most-serious label.Firefox 79 can be downloaded for Windows, macOS and Linux from Mozilla's site. Because Firefox updates in the background, most users will get […]
• Microsoft Patch Alert: July 2020
  July tends to be a leisurely month in Windows and Office patch land, and this one’s no exception.We had a bit of a thrill July 15 when Outlook stopped working on millions of PCs all over the world, but Microsoft fixed the bug four hours later by updating its servers.Folks who pay for Windows 7 […]
• Why Android and Chrome OS's next step could be colossal
  For years now, we've been hearing — and seeing — how Chrome OS and Android are coming together.The saga has stretched on since the dawn of time — or, uh, at least since about 2015, when the Chromebooks-are-doomed chorus started confidently crooning about the inevitable pending "merger" of Chrome OS and Android. At the same […]
• Qualcomm hints at (slight) 5G iPhone 12 delay
  We continue to gather shards of evidence around Apple’s upcoming iPhone 12 plans, so fresh statements from Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf add to the speculation.A ‘15% reduction in handset shipments’ While announcing flat revenues, the company has managed to maintain its business during the pandemic. But Mollenkopf warned fourth-quarter guidance might be impacted by a delayed product […]
• Windows 10 recovery, revisited: How to perform a clean install in 2004
  Windows 10 has always offered multiple methods for attempting OS recovery. But with the release of Windows 10 version 2004 on May 27, 2020, one of those recovery methods disappeared from its previous home in Settings > Update & Security > Recovery.[ Related: Windows 10 May 2020 Update (a.k.a. 2004) review ]What Windows 10 1909 […]
• Microsoft previews new enterprise-only telemetry option for Windows 10
  Microsoft last week launched a preview of a new enterprise-only option that blocks Windows' telemetry from reaching Redmond's servers.The option wasn't given an official label in the July 23 announcement, but at the sign-up site was defined as "The Data Processor Service for Windows Enterprise" – a mouthful even for Microsoft, known for interminable titling.[ […]
• Windows 10 Insider Previews: A guide to the builds
  Microsoft never sleeps. Even before Microsoft made the Windows 10 May 2020 Update (version 2004) generally available to users, the company began working on upcoming feature updates to Windows 10. As it did with version 2004, Microsoft has been releasing a series of public preview builds to members of Microsoft's Windows Insider Program.After years of […]