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Although the latest version of Windows 10 isn’t a “game changer” you should appreciate some of its newer options and enhancements like the new Start Menu, OneDrive, Action Center, Cortana and ability for it to adjust its interface according to the device you use. Read on to get up to speed with Windows 10.

Before we begin, it’s important to note a few things: Be sure to sign in with your Microsoft ID when you first set up Windows 10. This way you can sync settings across all your devices.

You’ll also see a change in terminology from Windows 8. All applications are now referred to as Windows apps as opposed to Metro, Modern or Windows Store apps. However, the term Universal app is still used to designate the ability to use an application across all your devices (desktop, tablet or smartphone).

Let’s Start with the Start Menu: Windows retired the cumbersome Charms Bar and brought back the much-loved Start Menu. The Start Menu is where you go to operate everything in Windows 10. You remember how to do this, right? Go to the lower left of your screen to bring up the Start Menu. You’ll see that it’s now separated into sections. Plus, it’s more customizable than ever before – change from partial view to full view, customize the color, pin and unpin tiles and more.

Put your cursor over the top edge of the Start Menu and drag it up or down to enlarge or reduce it. You can also click “Resize” and select the options for Small, Medium or Large. Rename a group by clicking it and keying in the name you prefer. You can also do this with your unnamed groups. Try combining groups, dragging one to another, or creating a new group by dragging a tile to a blank area.

If you want to remove a tile, select “Unpin from Start,” and the tile will disappear. To expand the start menu from three to four columns, go to Settings>Personalization>Start, click “Show more Tiles” and set this to “On”.

The Settings page offers you other options to personalize your Start Menu. Here are a few more popular ones:

• “Pin to Start” to move an app from the “Most Used” list to the Start Menu.
• “Open File Location” to open File Explorer.
• “Run as an Administrator” to run an application as an admin.
• “Run as a Different User” to change the current user.

As you can see, there are many ways to customize the Start Menu.

All Apps: With this option, you can view all the applications that you use the most. When you “right click” on it, Windows 10 brings up the files you’ve recently opened. Go to the top left of your screen to open the three horizontal lines (the “hamburger” menu). Here you’ll see all the Windows apps in alphabetical order. Some may appear as a folder with a down arrow showing that there are a number of options for this particular app. Simply click on what you want to use. To uninstall an app, open the Start Menu, go to Settings>System, select the app, and click the “Uninstall” button that pops up. Note: Some Windows apps like Weather and Mail can’t be uninstalled.

Account: Go to this set of stacked icons at the bottom left of your screen. Here you can access your user account to sign in and out of Windows, change your account settings or lock your computer.

File Explorer, Settings, Power: At the bottom left of your screen you’ll find File Explorer, the file-browsing app previously referred to as Windows Explorer. Here you’ll also find the Windows Settings app with your System, Devices, Network & Internet, Personalization, Accounts, Time & Language, Ease of Access, Privacy, and Update & Security settings. Located here as well is the Power app where you can shut down, restart or put your computer to sleep.

Life at a Glance, Play and Explore, Unnamed and Live Apps: The tiles for your Windows desktop applications are grouped into these categories. As you install new apps, they will go into the unnamed group. If you use the Enterprise Edition of Windows 10, your IT professional may have configured other groupings that appear on the right side of the Start Menu. Live apps are the ones where you’ll find real-time data like Mail, Weather, and News. Live tiles contain Windows apps but not desktop applications. Go to “Turn live tile off” if you want to stop real-time information from streaming into the tile. If it’s already off, you can choose “Turn live tile on”.

OneDrive: Windows 10 automatically comes with OneDrive cloud storage. The setup is easy, and you should definitely take advantage of it. If you’re using the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, OneDrive Files On-Demand allows you to access your OneDrive files from all your devices.

Windows Apps: Previously, Windows apps could only be run from the Start Menu and not from the desktop. You could use multiple Windows apps in separate windows on your desktop along with your desktop applications, but this was very limiting. Now you can minimize, close or resize your Windows apps just like you do with your desktop applications, and you can more easily access all the features in your Windows apps. On the bottom or left of the app are icons you can choose from, and you can customize these to your liking. For example, you’ll probably want to customize your Mail app to add accounts, select a type of mail account, combine mail from different accounts into one inbox, and much more.

Using a Tablet or 2-in-1: A new feature called Continuum detects the type of device you’re using and automatically adjusts the interface to suit it. For example, if you’re using a tablet with an attached keyboard, Continuum uses the desktop interface. When you disconnect the keyboard, it will ask you if you want to use Tablet Mode. Just click “yes” or click “Remember my response and don’t ask again” and Continuum will automatically switch to the right interface.

The Tablet mode in Windows 10 utilizes the touch and swipe gestures you’re familiar with. In the Start screen containing your apps, you’ll see six icons – three at the top and three at the bottom. The three at the bottom contains your user account, the Settings App, and the Power Icon. If you want, use the hamburger menu at the top to turn the screen black so the six icons contain text tables. Below this, you can tap the “Pinned Tiles” icon to fill your screen with tiles (the default interface). Or tap the “All Apps” to get a full-screen view of your Windows apps and desktop applications to quickly view and scroll to the ones you want. Interestingly, you will now need to scroll vertically rather than horizontally as you did before, but this is a minor inconvenience.

The Action Center: The Action Center displays notifications such as new emails, maintenance and security reminders, and news settings. You can launch it in one of three ways:

• Swiping from the right,
• Clicking the icon in the taskbar, or
• Selecting the Windows key + A.

The notifications will appear on the lower right and disappear on their own. You can adjust how many notifications are visible at once by going to the Action Center for any app. Three is the default Microsoft sets.

Many people find them useful, but if they bother or distract you, simply turn them off. Tap the notification and it will take you to the Task Manager where you can turn it off. (They will still be in the Action Center if you want to refer to them later.) You may want to keep the security and maintenance notifications on, so you remember to take necessary actions. Visit the Action Center – it’s pretty self-explanatory.

My People: This was introduced in the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update. With My People you can you pin your preferred contacts in the Windows taskbar, and quickly communicate with them without opening another application. To get going, click the My People button on the right side of the taskbar, and a Get Started button will pop up. Click this and the people you contact the most will appear. Pin them to the taskbar, or to add others, click “Find and Pin Contacts”. You can also scroll through communications and see all the messages you’ve exchanged, even your Skype video chats and instant messages.

The Edge Browser: Internet Explorer has been replaced as the default with the Edge Browser. Why? Because it’s considerably faster, safer, cleaner-looking and easier to use. In “Reading View”, everything you don’t need is stripped off the page, including advertisements, sidebars, and other distractions. You can use the annotation tool (it looks like a pencil and paper) and note anything you want to share. Simply select how you want to share it and follow the instructions – the Edge Browser will handle the rest. Even better, when using the Edge Browser, Cortana can pop up and alert you with details you’re looking for.

Speaking of Cortana: Cortana is a digital assistant that can search and help you find whatever you need on the Internet or on your computer. It’s set to turn on automatically when you start Windows 10. When you need help, type your question in the box to the lower left of your screen next to the Start button and Cortana will get to work for you. If you want to use Cortana’s voice assistant, go to your Settings menu to “Talk to Cortana” and in the section marked “Hey Cortana” turn the switch to “On”. After you do this, just say “Hey Cortana” and ask your question. You can use Cortana to browse, find files in your PC, and to locate various apps and settings.

Remember – technology works at its best when you know how to use it. The more you know about Windows 10, the better it’ll serve you on a daily basis. Be sure to put these 12 tips into practice the next time you start up your PC.

Psst… Social Media Isn’t Just For Slacking Off At Work Anymore – Yammer Is The Best Social Media Platform For Your Business!

Microsoft’s business social media platform – Yammer – has everything you need to boost productivity at your place of business.

In September of 2008, Microsoft developed the social networking service known as Yammer. Designed to boost connections between businesses and enterprises, Yammer comes with many features and benefits that will prove invaluable to business-owners, employees, and other involved parties. Yammer is moreover easily integrated within Office 365 and ultimately, this product has an excellent track record of boosting workplace success.

One of the best benefits of Yammer is the ease of connecting with others. In order to get started with the program, the users will need an email address which coincides with the company’s network. Clients and other people who contribute to the business will likely need access to an external network, which can be created by the business owner.

Just about every entrepreneur aspires to grow his or her own business and Yammer helps to make this possible. The program allows company employees to communicate with one another, keep track of ongoing assignments/tasks, and exchange thoughts and ideas, regardless of geographical location. However, the ability to communicate with ease and effectiveness is not the only pragmatic upside to using Yammer.

In addition to simplifying communication, business owners will discover that Yammer provides insight into what each colleague is working on in addition to their areas of expertise. In a day and age where awareness and collaborations are often imperative for workplace success, Yammer’s ability to keep all company members on the same page will greatly benefit the business as a whole, thus ensuring maximum productivity.

Communication and keeping all workers on the same page are great priorities for any company. However, businesses that use Yammer will find that it’s an advantageous element to have in the marketplace. Many competing businesses either may not be aware of Yammer or may be unsure how to use it. These companies may therefore rely on sending mass emails to employees or scheduling conference room meetings, as opposed to using Yammer, where the content can be reviewed anytime and matters will not be complicated by a worker who misses a meeting for whatever reason. Ultimately, Yammer is a professional asset that saves time, capital, and trouble for business owners and the people who work for them.

Businesses and companies that use Yammer will moreover find that the program incentivizes and encourages their workers, which can make all the difference in the world. Many studies and successful people have affirmed that one’s work environment and atmosphere greatly impact their levels of professional excellence. Yammer’s ‘praise’ program congratulates workers when they do well. While some people may view this as wholly insignificant, at best, it can make a considerable difference for a staffer who has experienced a long, grueling, trying day. Nine times out of ten, when employees thrive, the business thrives, as a whole.

Not only does Yammer incentivize current employees, but the program also makes the training process for staff considerably easier and less expensive. Many businesses struggle with bringing new people on board and teaching them everything there is to learn and know about the company. However, with Yammer, new staffers are able to quickly communicate with a network of colleagues and learn the ins and outs of the business. Employees who feel comfortable and at ease in their place of business are markedly more likely to perform at higher levels and stay with the company.

The marketplace is an inherently competitive environment. Businesses with the best tools, operations, and employees are notably more likely to grow and succeed than their less advanced counterparts. Yammer provides a viable opportunity for companies to communicate more effectively, network with colleagues, incentivize staffers, and simplify the process of bringing new employees on board. Are you ready to take your company to the next level?

Warning! Running Windows XP Software Expose You To These 5 Serious Threats

We’ve all done it before – you find a program that you love, and you use it every day until it’s so old it stops getting support from the developer – in the case of Windows XP, that could be extremely dangerous for you and your business.

SanDisk reported in 2015 that roughly 25% of organizations were still using old versions Windows and didn’t plan on migrating until the software’s end-of-life. Windows XP was first introduced in 2001, and since then it has been one of the most popular operating systems with millions of users even two years after the end-of-life.

However, just how dangerous is it to just keep using the same program? It can’t be that bad, can it? In reality, it is incredibly dangerous. Here are the facts you need to know if you plan to keep using geriatric versions of Windows software:

No More Updates Or Patches… You Are On Your Own

One of the main issues with old software is that it isn’t issued new updates and patches. Once software becomes all but extinct, it no longer gets the same protection. Microsoft cannot possibly create patches and updates for all the software and programs it has ever released, so they instead focus on just their most recent software. If you are using an old version, this means that you are leaving your computer vulnerable to the latest security threats.

Doesn’t Play Well With Others

A second danger that comes with failing to update is software incompatibility. New applications cannot be made to accommodate all software that has ever been released, as they are optimized for only the most recent of operating systems. If you are still using Windows XP, then you are limiting your computer’s compatibility with other legacy software, which in turn limits what you can get out of your programs, and out of your network as a whole.

Security Threats

If you are a business that stores essential data, such as sensitive customer information, or payroll accounts, then you could run the risk of not complying with the law. Entrusting your business’ confidential information to a legacy application means you aren’t securing or protecting your data. In other words, you are leaving the doors unlocked and open; you might as well load the info on a flash drive to give directly to the hackers. If you are hacked, you would have to contact Microsoft to get a patch, and then you will have to fork over a large amount of cash. A customer support agreement with Microsoft can run a business $200-$600 per server. Keep in mind that the cost for a custom support agreement goes up each year.

Ransomware And Windows XP

Ransomware is a type of malware that prevents or limits users from accessing their system or files until a ransom is paid to the hackers. The cost of global ransomware incidents is estimated at $325 million for the year of 2015. By the end of 2017, this number had already multiplied to $5 billion. By the year of 2020, it could easily quadruple to $12 billion.

A good example of the dangers that come with Windows XP is the recent “WannaCry” ransomware that swept the UK’s National Health Service (NHS). The NHS had to shut down services throughout their hospitals and clinics due to this ransomware attack. It was reported at 90% of their NHS used at least one device that was still operating on Windows XP. Due to their computers being encrypted by the ransomware, the hospitals were forced to turn away patients while they fixed the problem. Keep in mind that this is software that has not been supported since 2014. As of January 2017, the number of Windows XP users dropped to 0.9% of the market, which seems relatively small and non-threatening – however, 0.9% of 2.17 billion is still 19.5 million.

Costs Out Of Pocket And Out Of Luck

Beyond risking your security and reputation of your company you are also forcing yourself to pay higher operating costs. Using old software has a much higher price for maintenance and bug-fixing. For example, if you needed a patch from Microsoft for Legacy Windows XP, you would end up paying more than you would to just update and replace the program.

Snail’s Pace Performance

Lastly, you will be suffering from inadequate performance and unreliability. Programs built in 2003 and before cannot keep up with the technology of 2018. This means that while Windows XP was cutting edge when it first came out, now it cannot keep up with the internet speed, or with the pace of faster servers. We all hate waiting for a program to open, or watching the spinning wheel while your computer tries to catch up – while you wait, your work continues to pile up. Imagine what this costs your company in downtime alone.

With so many issues, it’s hard to see why so many people have continued to use Windows XP. Years after the last update was offered from Windows, huge companies still cling to the operating system’s remains. The reliability and comfort of the operating system proved to be a fault in their own. Imagine if we lost 75% of our water utilities in the US, due to a preventable hack. Not only would be out of the water, but all the sensitive information that the utility companies hold would be left defenseless.

Continuing to use software that is out of date is like leaving your home unlocked, your doors open, and all your valuables on display and unsecured. Hackers don’t have to keep up with the latest software to make good money when businesses are making these kinds of mistakes. If you stay with Windows XP, you will be paying more for security vulnerabilities and poor performance – don’t let this happen to your company. The cost of the updated software will pay for itself by saving you the money you’d pay for the patch from Microsoft and in damages.

Get untangled from your landline, and let VoIP boost your business’ efficiency, reliability, and quality.

A recent study revealed that 94% of business’ marketing budgets are spent trying to get consumers to call. If businesses are paying so much of their advertising and marketing budget on a communications system, shouldn’t it be reliable and efficient?

This need for a more reliable form of communication is forcing many businesses to make the transition from the landline to the VoIP. However, this transition can be a scary process. How are you supposed to make this transition while running your business? A lapse in phone service means a loss of communication with your customers, which could mean a loss of profit.

Why Move To VoIP?

The move to VoIP offers your business improvements in efficiency, reliability, and quality, all at an affordable cost. Landline phones are becoming obsolete – by choosing to remain with a landline system, your business may become obsolete as well.

Efficiency

VoIP provides your business improved efficiency by limiting issues that come from having to replace or fix phones, as well as complicated management of adding and or removing employees. On traditional landline phone systems, you would have to wait lengthy periods of time for a phone to be replaced, or for a roll truck to fix issues. All this time spent waiting for a fix costs you money.

With a VoIP system, you don’t have to deal with these issues, which means less downtime. VoIP also improves your business’ efficiency by providing you with numerous options for routing and answering calls, without the expensive on-premises technology and staff.

Reliability

VoIP provides your business improved reliability by delivering a clear, seamless quality of phone service. This service can run on multiple internet connections, and can even extend to your smartphone. VoIP can work reliably through anything that mother nature may throw at you from hurricanes to snowstorms. Additionally, if you lose your business due to a fire, your VoIP phone service will still work. This is one of the main reasons why there are now over 288 million VoIP users.

Quality

VoIP provides your business improved quality through clarity of your calls. These calls come with a digital readout display, and the option to work without a headset. For those that still wish to use a headset, they can receive their calls through the use of a “softphone”, which is software that allows users to make telephone calls through the internet on their computers.

Affordability

VoIP saves your business 40-80% compared to the cost of traditional landline phone service. Landlines now cost more than VoIP phone systems both in the initial setup, as well as in ongoing contracts. For example, landlines for five employees cost an average of $563/month, while VoIP services for the same amount of users costs only an average of $27.95/month.

Years ago, VoIP systems would cost $10-$50/month, after the cost of the headset (which usually cost $200 each). It’s easy to see how quickly this can add up. Today, VoIP comes at affordable rates as low as $0. Phones will be set up ahead of time, that way there is no lapse in your communication with your clients. This saves your business money by limiting the loss of contact, during this time of transition. Secondly, there is a “Proof of Concept” (POC), which allows you to have your phones in place, and try them out before deciding whether they’re right for your business.

Preparing For The Move

So how do you transition from traditional landline phones to VoIP, while at the same time shortening the loss of communication? Preparing for the move means you need to gather pertinent information such as how many employees you have, what your cabling needs are, what your current infrastructure is, and what are the nonnegotiable-features that you need from the new phone system.

Step By Step

You begin by evaluating your cost analysis. Fully understanding the budget upfront and ongoing ensures that you will be able to get the most out of this new program, without being oversold. After looking at the move from a financial standpoint, you are ready for your live demo. This provides you and your employees a chance not only to see all of the VoIP system’s features but also to try them out, in a risk-free environment. Once you decide on which features you need, you are ready to decide which service provider best fits your company’s needs. For 2017, the top three VoIP service providers were Ring Central, Vonage Business, and 8×8 Global Communications.

Once you have selected a plan and a service provider, you want to ensure that you have no network issues that could limit or infringe on the successful integration of your new VoIP system. From these network tests, you should make any adjustments or upgrades that you feel are necessary to ensure the best result for your business. Lastly, you will complete your trial period, or your Proof of Concept period, that allows you to see first-hand how the service works and if it meets your business needs. If so, then you move on to finalize the agreement, and select a “Go Live Date”.

After your VoIP system is up and running, employees should be trained to use all the features that they provide. Some of these features include having a virtual receptionist, voicemail-to-email, automatic call forwarding, and three-digit dialing. Training and ongoing support are a crucial part of developing and maintaining your successful relationship with your VoIP.

Moving to VoIP does not have to be a cumbersome and time-consuming challenge. It could mean a more efficient, reliable, and qualitative business. With the new VoIP service, you would be able to rid yourself of the hassles of maintenance agreements, capital expenditure, truck rolls, and lengthy wait periods that traditional landline phones come with. Lastly, you will have access to excellent customer care support 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and 365 days a year. Don’t let your phone system hold your business back from its full potential any longer. Disentangle yourself from your landlines’ limitations and see what the freedom provided by a VoIP system can do for your company.

Where you work is no longer defined by four walls and a door – not even by cubicle walls. Gone are the days where productivity requires a set geographical location, at least for some roles, anyway.

Recent years have seen the rise of the remote workforce that can effectively collaborate on projects from across the globe. Organizations can cut costs and increase productivity using various platforms that facilitate communication and collaboration, and it’s only becoming more popular.

Revolution or Evolution?

Major metropolitan cities from New York to Los Angeles are filled with your classic skyscrapers, and every town and suburb in between is dotted with professional office parks. However, are these buildings, once filled to the brim with bustling businesses, still relevant?

They’re no longer the norm – but why? Even with the periodic recession, the overall post-WWII American economy didn’t just emerge with success – it exploded! The “four walls and a door” was waiting for every entry-level candidate until the late 1980’s when the cubicle first gained popularity.

Fast-forward to today, and the latest concept to revolutionize the workforce isn’t revolutionary at all. Telecommuters now represent a significant portion of the global workforce, and do so quite ably. To say the idea of the office has evolved is quite the understatement: now, an office can be anywhere. From your desk at home to your local coffee shop, from the waiting room at your car dealership to Row 6 Seat B on your flight, telecommuting facilitates progress so long as you can access your files, email, and anything else you need to get the job done.

• Did you know that telecommuting has increased by more than 300% in the past 20 years? Technology has made telecommuting easier and more effective and has helped organizations retain quality staff longer.

No longer is the stereotypical full-time staffer a given when organizations look to fill a role, either. People are now demanding flexibility in a job description, and what was once a 9-to-5 position is becoming obsolete. For more than a decade, flexibility has evolved into an expectation over a fringe benefit, and with good reason. A global remote workforce offers business without boundaries and productivity that never stops.

A Collaborative Culture

The evolving business culture demands evolving means by which to collaborate and connect. Digital platforms are plentiful, with features that cater to your business’ specific needs. Platforms like Basecamp and Trello are beloved by project managers, Salesforce.com and Microsoft Sharepoint offer great sales team support, and technology teams rely on tools like Microsoft Team Foundation Server – often shortened to TFS. Organization is critical to any company, especially when teams are separated by time zones.

Where would we be today without Microsoft? Microsoft and Windows have remained the primary professional computing mainstays for about 30 years. Microsoft Office remains the fundamental application suite on which companies rely for day-to-day operations, even when office space is nonexistent. The irony of the name is not lost on us, either!

Microsoft recognized an opportunity in the permanence of telecommuting. Never one to shy away from innovation, Microsoft launched a suite of applications catering to the “digital” crowd in 2011, under its Office 365 brand. If Microsoft Office is a basic tool for the 9-to-5 professional, the subscription-based Office 365 is a fundamental lifeline of the telecommuter. Office 365 allows the use of applications across a multitude of devices, as well as file hosting, email, and a range of other networking tools designed to feed our daily addiction to all things Microsoft.

Rumors began swirling in 2016 of a Microsoft acquisition bid for the cloud-based Slack collaboration tool, a darling of the technology industry – but why buy when you can create and customize? Microsoft’s Skype for Business product offered similar basic functionalities and was already installed on the digital desktops of millions of professional customers. In early 2017, Microsoft released what it believed to be the next-level professional platform: Microsoft Teams.

• Slack offers itself as a “freemium” product, a marketing and pricing strategy where the base model of a product or service is widely available free of charge, but premium features are available for those willing to pay the added cost.

Making the Most of Your Microsoft

Microsoft didn’t face a great hurdle in convincing customers to “buy in” to Microsoft Teams, given its position as a new-and-improved version of anything currently on the market. If Microsoft Office was the predecessor to Office 365 and Skype for Business, Teams is the logical next generation.

Why is the next generation so important? Microsoft realizes that the workplace is evolving and that more businesses are hiring independent contractors, freelancers, consultants, and other external resources to support permanent staff – all of which work together toward one common goal. Microsoft Teams refers to these external resources as “Guests.” If collaboration is the cornerstone of professional success, then communication is the foundation upon which that stone is laid, and Guests don’t need to be granted full access to proprietary information.

The solution is Guest Access, and it’s a new feature in Teams, which customers have been requesting for some time. Aside from the previously mentioned independent contractors, etc., Guests may also include vendors, suppliers, or even interns. Guest Access is available to users who have an email address that corresponds to an Azure Active Directory or Office 365 work or school account.

Organizations can provide external access to their teams for applications to partners, resources, chat communication, and documents in channels while maintaining control and protection.

In Microsoft Teams, Guest Access is a tenant-level setting that’s turned off by default. Do you need help turning on this new feature? Follow these steps:

1. The global admin needs to login to the dashboard: https://portal.office.com/adminportal/home
2. In the left navigation menu, expand Settings and select “Service and Admin.”
3. Scroll and select Office 365 Group settings.
4. In the menu that opens, toggle the bottom option to “On,” giving Group Owners the ability to add Guests from outside the organization, and click “Save.”

• This setting needs to be enabled because Team permissions are based on Groups.

5. Next, scroll through the list to select Microsoft Teams
6. In the left navigation menu, find the “Settings by user/license type” and select “Guest” in the drop-down menu and toggle setting to “On.”
7. Click “Save.”

After changing these settings, Team Owners can add and manage Guest Access within their Team.

Whether you include mostly in-house staff, a team of telecommuters, or a range of every type of resource at your organization, we can help you make 2018 the best year yet – as a team!