Author Archives: Website Admin

Windows 8.1 Uncovered

Takeaway: Microsoft has created many new features that are included with Windows 8.1 expected to be release before the end of 2013.

Windows 8.1 is more than an update to Windows 8; it has new features for both businesses and home users. Another major step for Microsoft will be annual updates for operating systems; similar to Apple with OS X.

The biggest update will be the traditional Start button on the left side of the screen. Other features include:

Boot-to-desktop is available instead of booting to the Metro Start Screen.
Start screen provides additional custom options for tiles.
New snap behavior allows up to four Windows 8 Apps to be placed side-by-side without the 320-pixel limitation.
PC Settings section includes settings previously located in Control Panel.
SkyDrive Synchronization settings are built into the operating system.
& many other features.

Windows 8.1 Preview with Jensen Harris

Apple iOS 7

On Monday, June 10, 2013 Apple exposed iOS 7 at the Worldwide Developers Conference. The new OS will be available for multiple devices including iPhone 4 and up, iPad 2 and up and the iPad Mini.

New features for iOS 7 include:

Control Center: By swiping from the bottom to the top will now allow you to adjust your settings

AirDrop: For Apps that allow sharing, AirDrop will encrypt data that a user shares to friends within a close distance.

Activation Lock: To prevent smartphone crimes, when disabling “Find My iPhone” the phone will be locked and only the correct Apple credentials will unlock the phone.

Multitasking: Apps can develop patterns based on usage. These patterns will allow the iOS 7 to update apps in the background based on network connections.

Car integrated iOS: For 2014, many car manufacturers are integrating iOS with the car display.

Safari: Safari has been updated with navigation, smart search and iCloud Keychain.

Siri: Siri can now operate more of the iPhone including voicemail, Wikipedia, Twitter, Bing and many others.

Camera: Photos are well-organized as Moments. Also, the camera has new photo filter options.

App Store: The App Store can organize Apps based on age and geographical location. Also, background updating will eliminate manual updating.

Music: Music, Movies and TV Shows are now stored together in your Library.

iTunes Radio: A streaming music service that will be available with iOS 7.

Smartphone Market Share

Takeaway: Kantar Worldpanel is an international company that provides market and consumer solutions.

Android is up 13% market share since February 2012, now holding more than half of Smartphone sales. Within the Android market, Samsung continues to take control over other smartphone manufacturers. “It’s apparent that Samsung is successful at capturing users from across the competitor set and not just gaining from their own loyalists.” said Kantar Worldpanel analyst Mary-Ann Parlato.

Apple’s iOS is down 7% market share since February 2012. Taking more than half of Verizon and AT&T sales, Apple is steadily residing in second place behind Android.

The first quarter of 2013 has been very impacting for Microsoft, jumping into third place for smartphones and fifth place for tablets. Microsoft has finally made a leap from 2012, bringing their market share up 52%. Microsoft is now continuously growing in smartphone sales.

Lastly, BlackBerry has taken a “nose-dive” since 2012, dropping from 3.6 to .7 (81%) market share.

Hosted Web Server Maintenance

Our server will be coming down at 1 A.M on Friday, June 14th, 2013 as part of our planned maintenance for space efficiency. Due to the physical relocation of the servers, we cannot provide a precise time frame for this maintenance however we expect this to take between 2 to 3 hours. Our technicians have performed this maintenance several times and have established a process to minimize the outage period during the moves. We apologize for any inconveniences caused by this maintenance.

Maintenance Window: 1 A.M. – 6 A.M. (EST) on Friday, June 14, 2013.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

(856)745-9990 or support@sjtechies.com

Surface RT the Enterprise Tablet

Takeaway: Microsoft Surface RT is the first Tablet equipped for enterprise.

Apple and Android are dominant for consumer consumption, but Windows RT is the best candidate for enterprise use.

Surface RT Tablet

The Surface by Microsoft is a crossover between a laptop and a tablet. The Surface RT is a slim tablet with a kickstand and the option of a Touch Cover or a Type Cover.

Surface RT is running Windows RT Operating System on a Quad-Core NVIDIA Tegra 3 Processor. Storage options are 32 GB or 64 GB. According to recent news, only 16 GB available for the 32 GB hard drive and 46 GB available for 64 GB hard drive.

Surface RT for Enterprise use

Surface RT is pre-loaded with touch-enhanced versions of Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote). Unlike the iPad, the RT has the ability to increase storage with a USB port and MicroSDXC card slot.

Effortlessly join and integrate a Surface RT into a Windows environment; with the capability to retrieve and share network resources. Providing a “true desktop browser” and the basic functionality, commonly used with a desktop computer, allow the transition from desktop to tablet to be easy.

Microsoft Word – Undo Automatic Indents Tip

Takeaway: Creating numbered or bulleted lists would be simple with the ability to adjust or remove automatic indents.

Simple Solution

This simple solutions works with the current list only. If you add to this list, Word will remember the indent. When you start a new list later in the document, it won’t.

Create an numbered or bulleted list.
Double-click any number or bullet in the list to select all.
To change the indent position:

Select the Decrease option in the Paragraph group (Aligning all items to the left margin)
Select the Increase option in the Paragraph group. (Aligning all items to the right margin)

Entire Document Solution

The entire document solution will adjust the settings for all numbered/bulleted lists in the document. Instructions below will default the list to be aligned at the left margin (0), you can adjust accordingly.

Create an numbered or bulleted list.
Double-click any number or bullet in the list to select all.
Right-click the selection; select Adjust List Indents.
The Adjust List Indents window opens.

Number Position: 0 (Where the numbers / bullets will align.)
Text Indent: .25 (Space between numbers/bullets and text.)

Apple: Larger Screens for iPhones & iPads

Apple, Inc. offers innovative products that continue to grow its customer base. Testing new designs for current products is a consistent task for Apple, Inc.

“Apple has been slow to react to consumer desire for larger smartphone screens, [and] entry level price points on new phones,” said BGC Financial’s Colin Gillis. “Waiting and waiting, for the new products to launch, has become painful,” he wrote.

Currently, Apple is testing various sizes for iPhone and iPad screens. Samsung has become the world’s largest smartphone maker because Samsung offers a variety of smartphones with display sizes that range up to 5.5-inches. Continuing to compete with Samsung, Apple is testing for a 5-inch iPhone screen expected to be released in 2014.

A new tablet design is also being tested by Apple with a display that is a little less than 13-inches. This would be a great addition to the iPad that has a 9.7-inch display and the iPad Mini that has a 7.8-inch display.

Lastly, Apple has been developing an iPhone that would be cheaper than the current iPhone. According to many articles, the cheaper iPhone will be made from plastic instead of the traditional metal casing that will be available in different colors.

Apple, Inc. could climb back to the top of both smartphone and tablet sales by releasing a larger display for the iPhone/iPad and releasing an iPhone that is reasonably priced.

Microsoft – What went wrong?

ET83-screen[1]Touch 10 Monitor Microsoft has always been key player in the Technology world. In 2009, Microsoft released Windows 7, for many users it became the best operating system yet. Not too long after the release of Windows 7, Microsoft predicted that “touch-screens” were the future of technology and focused all of their resources in one place.

On October 26, 2012, Microsoft released their Windows 8 OS and their first tablet, the Surface RT. Shortly thereafter, on February 9, 2013, Microsoft released the second tablet, the Surface Pro. For more information regarding the Surface RT or the Surface Pro, click here.

“A Windows 8-based PC is really a new kind of device, one that scales from touch-only small screens through to large screens, with or without a keyboard and mouse,” said Julie Larson-Green from Microsoft.

Apple and Android touchscreen devices have been very successful because they are useful on-the-go. Trying to compete with Apple and Android, Microsoft developed Windows 8, a touch-oriented OS. Many desktop and laptop users have had problems adjusting to the new OS. Also, the Surface Tablet users are having trouble adjusting to this device and OS because it is a touch-enabled laptop. Using the touchscreen features on a laptop is not convenient and very uncomfortable.

How long will it take for Microsoft to regain its position in the technology world?

5 Steps to Keep Personal Data Safe

Takeaway: Managing personal data can be risky and expensive for organizations.

“As the amount of personal information increases multifold, individuals and their personal data will increasingly become a security target. And, yet in most scenarios the organization is still ultimately accountable for the personal data on its IT systems,” said Carsten Casper, research vice president at Gartner, Inc.

Gartner, Inc. has a five step plan to create an exit strategy:

Step 1:

The first step to preparing a strategy for transporting personal data is to distinguish personal data from non-personal data.

Step 2:

Once personal data is distinguished, it will need protection. Ways to protect data are:

Encryption
Virtual Machines
Secure Apps
Mobile Data Management Products
& many more options.

Step 3:

Next step is to use Human Resource (HR), Customer Relationship Managment (CRM) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) programs that specialize in organizing and storing personal data.

Step 4:

The most problematic task is guaranteeing that an organization will obey privacy standards for the transfer of personal data which is Gartner’s fourth step.

Step 5:

Create a practical method of discussing Cloud computing including laws and jurisdictions for the physical location and logical location of stored personal data.

ActiveSync Limits – Exchange 2010 SP1

Exchange 2010 Service Pack 1 restricts the number of ActiveSync devices (=EAS PartnerShips) by setting the default to allow up to only 10 devices. This default helps eliminate resources from being monopolized.

Limiting ActiveSync devices is for the new feature “Throttling” which manages Exchange performance. Throttling enforces bandwidth limits by tracking consumed resources per user.

Run command in cmdlet to adjust ActiveSync limits:

Set-ThrottlingPolicy –EASMaxDevices # –Identity DefaultThrottlingPolicy_hex_string

Change # to the number of devices.
Run Get-ThrottlingPolicy to find out the hex_string identity.