Windows 8 Preview Available
Posted by Brian Gallutia on Sep 14, 2011
Last night, Microsoft made available the developer build of Windows 8 to all who wish to play with it and get a feel for their new OS. If you wish to download your own version and give it a test-run, you can follow the link here.
This new version of Windows is intended to bridge the desktop to cloud services and social media. One of our concerns is that whenever Microsoft tries to cut a path forward with things that are “cool” (like social media), they usually do it in a way that is kludgey and self-serving which kills the cool factor almost immediately.
As the weeks go on and we get the chance to play with the Windows 8 Preview build, we’ll be sharing our thoughts and comments on Microsoft’s new OS direction.
XP Support Ends April 8, 2014
Posted by Brian Gallutia on Jul 14, 2011
It’s been a long-time coming, but it’s finally here. Microsoft has decreed that Windows XP will be officially retired on April 8, 2014 – exactly 1,000 days after the death-sentence was announced.
The announcement comes from Stephen L Rose on the Windows 7 Team Blog. You can read the post in it’s entirety here.
So what does this mean to our friends and customers? Well, if your office is primarily using Windows XP then it is time to get with your software vendors and see what the upgrade strategy is to migrate from Windows XP to Windows 7 (or even Windows 8, when it comes out in 2012).
PCS can strategize with your company on the most cost-effective and efficient way to migrate your network before “the Windows XP axe falls.” Please give us a call (866.976.9136 / 615.371.9931) or drop us a line – we’re ready to help!
Office 365 Launches June 28th
Posted by Brian Gallutia on Jun 6, 2011
Microsoft has confirmed that it is holding an invitation-only Office 365 Launch Party in New York on June 28th, where it is believed that the online productivity suite will be made available for all takers.
The reason that this is a big deal is that this marks a significant milestone in how Microsoft will do business from here on out. Even though Microsoft already offers a few cloud services (Hotmail/Windows Live Mail and Windows Azure to name two), they have been very careful to not compete against themselves by offering cloud-based versions of their “bread and butter” products, Windows and Office.
Microsoft Office 365 is really just an evolution of their BPOS (Business Productivity Online Suite) services suite, but this time it is being aggressively marketed as an alternative to a traditional Office implementation. We would expect that if Microsoft is successful in this offering that we’ll be seeing the same type of model transfer over to the Windows environment.
A Dying Consumer Brand
Posted by Brian Gallutia on Oct 28, 2010
David Goldman, staff writer for CNN Money.com, posted an interesting article on how Microsoft is slowly losing it’s presence in the consumer markets. David quotes a blog post from former Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie, who called out Microsoft’s lost ground:
Our early and clear vision notwithstanding, [competitors'] execution has surpassed our own in mobile experiences, in the seamless fusion of hardware & software & services, and in social networking & myriad new forms of internet-centric social interaction
The article is a good read, but I don’t think that it draws a clear enough picture of what Microsoft truly is: a Mergers and Acquisitions company. It is this fact that keeps Microsoft’s brand in the consumer markets dull and uninspiring.
It can be argued that Microsoft has never “innovated” in any field it’s involved itself in: it has always taken queues from industry leaders and either (a) copies the leader’s formula and uses its financial muscle to gain market share or (b) buys the company’s technology and makes it their own.
In the current consumer market, this way of doing business can no longer sustain Microsoft. By being the “great equalizer”, the Internet allows new, cool tech to come to market quickly and gain a large user base faster than Microsoft can react. To put it another way, the cool tech either becomes too well known for Microsoft to effectively brand it as their own and dominate the market or the tech has become too expensive for Microsoft to acquire it.
The way out of this for Microsoft is to become a true innovator, to come up with a product or service that hasn’t been done. They need to create a product that is infinitely usable and becomes a necessary component of a consumer’s day-to-day computing life.
Unfortunately, given Microsoft’s track record as a Mergers and Acquisitions company, this way of thinking may not only be too late, but impossible to pull off.
MSE Going Free
Posted by Brian Gallutia on Oct 3, 2010
Over the past few months, Microsoft Security Essentials has been a reliable tool in our fight against virus and malware infections, and in October, Microsoft is sharing the love with the small business.
Starting in October, small businesses will be able to license Microsoft Security Essentials for up to ten PC’s, at no cost.
Compared to other anti-virus solutions out there, that may not seem like a huge savings, but subscription costs do add up over time and MSE is just as good, if not better, than the standard commercial-fare.
For more information, review this posting from Microsoft’s SMB Community blog.
Is that Bill in 2010?
Posted by Brian Gallutia on Oct 3, 2010
There is a new feature in Outlook 2010 called the “People Pane,” which can be found at the bottom of email windows and shows information related to the contact, such as recent emails, past and future appointment dates and even Facebook status updates (when utilizing the Outlook Social Connector).
Another piece of information that the People Pane can serve up is an image of the person(s) you’re emailing. This information can be pulled from your smart phone, the social media connector, or just “any old image” you have associated with the contact in Outlook.
A funny thing was discovered recently in that when a contact does not have a picture association, the “default” image is a silhouette of Bill Gates’ infamous “mug shot” that was taken of him after a driving offense in his youth:
Snipping Tool
Posted by Brian Gallutia on Aug 29, 2010
There is a little-known utility that is lurking in the Accessories area on all Windows Vista and 7 operating systems that we at PCS use on a daily basis, but no one seems to be aware of: the Snipping Tool.
The Snipping Tool can be used to capture a screen shot, or snip, of any object on your screen and then annotate, save, or share the image.
The mouse can be utilized to capture any of the following types of snips:
Free-form Snip: Draw an irregular line around an object
Rectangular Snip: Draw a precise line by dragging the cursor around an object to form a rectangle.
Window Snip: Select a window, such as a browser window or dialog box, that you want to capture
Full-screen Snip: Capture the entire screen when you select this type of snip.
After the snip is captured, it is automatically copied to the mark-up window where you can annotate, save or share the snip.
Personally, I use this tool in my day-to-day communications with clients via email. It is invaluable in allowing me to illustrate a concept, problem or solution with a program by taking a “snip” of my screen and then pasting that snip in a quick email.
I know a few clients are in the habit of emailing a screen capture by hitting the Print Screen (PrtScn) key on their keyboards, pasting the capture in Word, editing the capture and then mailing the document as an attachment. Hopefully this tool will make that process a lot easier for some folks.
No More Win2K Support
Posted by Brian Gallutia on Jul 13, 2010
Along with discontinuing support for Windows XP Service Pack 2 (as mentioned in a previous post), July 13th also marks the official end of support for all versions of Windows 2000, including the 2000 Server product.
What this means is that not only will Microsoft no longer provide assistance for those companies and organizations running Windows 2000 Server, but there will no longer be any updates or security patches released for the aging OS.
If you or your business still utilizes this once-great (but admittedly aged) server operating system, please allow PCS the opportunity to consult with you and provide assistance in updating your networking environment today. We’re ready to help.