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• 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 […]
• Microsoft Patch Alert: September 2020
  What September’s patching frenzy lacked in fireworks, it more than compensated for in volume – and belligerence. Server 2016 hiccups on Security Options. Win10 version 2004 surprises – Lenovo still hasn’t fixed its Blue Screen-inducing Biometric Security setting; the TRIM function still tries to trim spinning hard disks; for some, Start goes wonky, Action Center […]
• Great news for intranets at Microsoft Ignite 2020
  Microsoft’s annual gathering of tech leaders and practitioners was delivered as a digital event last week. There was a lot of news - so much that it was compiled in a digital Book of News. In this post, I focus on a few of my favorite announcements for communicators and intranet managers.Global navigation (finally) with […]
• Dual biometrics for banking: Double trouble or super-secure?
  In an unusual experiment, two European banks (one in Hungary, the other in Spain) are trying to boost security and – nonintuitively – convenience by layering one biometric authentication method on top of another.The two biometrics are facial recognition and palm recognition – both performed via a mobile device – and the banks are Hungary’s […]
• 5 HomeKit-compatible solutions for working from home
  It should be pretty clear now that the new normal involves working from home for much longer than most originally anticipated, so it makes sense to invest in optimizing the experience.Managing the new normal We’ve moved from phase one of COVID-19 response. It’s no longer about making the best of what we have or rushing […]
• The best Android file manager apps
  File management isn't the sexiest subject surrounding smartphone ownership — but if you use your device for productivity, it's an important area to consider.Your phone, after all, is your on-the-go connection to the world. It's the always-available PC of our modern computing era. And whether your work involves presentations, PDFs, documents, or images, you're bound […]
• Will Apple Silicon slow enterprise Mac deployment?
  Apple’s decision to migrate Macs to Apple Silicon opens up interesting opportunities for enterprise IT but also poses some challenges, not least of which is further balkanization unless the company ensures its products play nice with others.The good, the bad and the FUD-ly The good side of the move to Apple Silicon on enterprise Macs is better […]
• What is IFTTT? How to use If This, Then That services
  You’ve no doubt heard of software as a service. Those who are deeply into IT will nod their heads in recognition when acronyms such as IaaS (infrastructure as a service) and PaaS (platform as a service) are tossed around, too. But here’s one “*aaS” you might not have heard of yet: everything as a service. […]
• Tech event calendar 2020: Upcoming shows, conferences and IT expos
  Tech Events Event Description Starts Ends Location Computex Taipei Based in Asia, this massive technology trade show and expo focuses on information and communications technology, supply chain and IoT ecosystems. 2020-09-28 2020-09-30 Taipei, Taiwan MSPWorld 2020 (Online only) MSPWorld offers a vendor-agnostic focus on Managed Service providers and their respective ecosystems, based on real-world experiences […]
• How to protect your privacy in Windows 10
  There has been some concern that Windows 10 gathers too much private information from users. Whether you think Microsoft's operating system crosses the privacy line or just want to make sure you protect as much of your personal life as possible, we're here to help. Here's how to protect your privacy in just a few […]
• Flashback Friday: You’re welcome
  It’s sometime around the turn of the millennium, and this pilot fish is part of the small corporate IT staff for a regional engineering firm.“Part of our job was general user support for the marketing and sales staff, most of whom were issued laptops to use,” says fish. “Of course, there was no training on […]
• Microsoft steps up Teams: Finally, the next generation of remote conferencing
  Disclosure: The companies mentioned are clients of the author.This week, I attended Microsoft Ignite, and one of the sessions that caught my attention involved Microsoft Teams. The video conferencing market has been gravitating to two main offerings of late: Teams and Zoom. Large companies often use Teams, while Zoom is more common with smaller companies, […]
• How to set up a work-from-home ‘office’ for the long term
  Working from home is hardly a new phenomenon, but the COVID-19 pandemic has made it an unplanned requirement for many office and knowledge workers. Even as the coronavirus crisis eventually recedes, many employers will have discovered that they don’t need large office buildings, and many employees will have discovered that they don’t need to be […]
• 10 hidden tricks for making the most of Android gestures
  Getting around Android sure ain't what it used to be.Google's made some serious changes to the Android navigation experience over the past few years, going from the old-style three-button setup to a somewhat clunky early gesture model in Android 9, then a whole other new gesture system in Android 10, and then finally a slightly refined […]
• 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 […]
• Next perpetual version of Office to debut in 2021
  Microsoft will create at least one more Office suite, the company said this week during its annual Ignite conference.The next perpetual licensed Office will be released for both Windows and macOS in the second half of 2021, Microsoft said in a Tuesday post to a company blog.Office's perpetual version is the one that a company […]
• Google takes on Airtable, Microsoft Lists with Tables work-tracking app
  Google has unveiled its take on the market for highly customizable work-tracking apps with the beta launch of Tables.  Created in Google’s Area 120 project incubator, Tables combines spreadsheet and database functionality with a “no-code” approach that lets users create simple apps to meet individual needs. This could mean anything from a tailored timesheet forms to a support ticket queue or even […]
• Microsoft's forthcoming Outlook for Mac should boost WFH
  Microsoft has been watching what remote workers need and seems to have introduced some of these necessary features in the planned October release of Microsoft Outlook for Mac, which adds new tools, customizations and more for Mac users working in Outlook-based enterprises.Feels like a Mac app Microsoft moved fast to support Apple’s new operating systems […]
• Wayback Wednesday: No good deed goes unpunished
  This pilot fish’s post-college job for a credit card company largely involves typing data from telemarketers into a database and then printing out stacks of reports every night.“One day, I got the bright idea to put my IT degree to good use and recommend putting the reporting data on the company intranet,” fish says. “That […]
• Pandemic gives VDI a new lease on life
  The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent shift to working from home have brought about numerous technological disruptions, many centered around how organizations deliver IT services to their workforce. Technologies that were dabbled in before, like videoconferencing, have suddenly become standard practice.Such is the case with Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI), also known as desktop virtualization or thin-client […]