Category: News

Here are the top features of iOS 11

The 10 best features you won’t be able to live without

Ready for some new iPhone and iPad features? iOS 11 is now out of beta and ready for the public. Here are the best features that came with it.

Get ready to back up your iPhone and iPad: iOS 11 is here. Apple released the latest version of its mobile operating system on Tuesday, introducing us to a handful of brand-new features. In fact, this version of iOS feels like the most ambitious version of iOS that Apple has launched in a while. Here are the best new features that we already can’t live without.

Siri’s new tricks

Siri is one of those features that keeps getting better with each software upgrade, and iOS 11 is no exception. This time, Siri gets a new voice, plus a super-helpful visual interface that lets you even edit your voice request with text input. And now, Siri is able to translate phrases for you—it can process English to Chinese, French, German, Italian, and Spanish. Apple said that it will add more languages in the months to come.

Customizable Control Center

Currently, Control Center in iOS 10 takes up two panels, so you have to navigate to the second panel to access volume controls. However, iOS 11 brings everything back to a single screen and relies more on 3D Touch. Not only that, but you can also customize which controls you’d like to have on there. You can add new controls to quickly access your Wallet, turn on Low Power Mode, and even start Screen Recording—an all-new feature for iOS.

New Live Photo effects

Apple has given us more reasons to want to take Live Photos, those GIF-like moving images. In iOS 11, you can add effects to your Live Photos after you take them. Find a Live Photo on your camera roll and then swipe up. You will be able to add a looping effect to your photo or make it “bounce” back-and-forth, similar to an Instagram Boomerang. You can also make it a long exposure shot for better photos of low-lit scenarios.

Drag-and-drop on iPad

iOS 11 makes for better multitasking on iPad. Now you can drag-and-drop images, links, and files between apps that are open side-by-side, either in Split View or Side Bar mode. In fact, you can drag-and-drop an app from Dock onto Side Bar mode, and drag that secondary app from the right to the left side of the screen.

Markup your screenshots

Everytime you take a screenshot in iOS 11, it will automatically remain floating on the lower left. You can swipe it offscreen to save it to your camera roll as per usual, or you can tap on it to go into Markup. So now, you can add handwritten notes or comments either with your finger or with your Apple Pencil if you’re using an iPad Pro.

Social profiles in Apple Music

Apple Music gets social in iOS 11. Taking a page from Spotify, Apple Music members now have a profile on the streaming app. You can use your profile page to showcase your favorite playlists, as well as the albums you’ve recently listened to. You can also follow friends on Apple Music, and their profile photo will show up next to the albums they’ve listened to. However, there is currently no way to listen to music on private or secret mode, so be ready for your Apple Music followers to get a glimpse at all your guilty pleasures.

Do Not Disturb While Driving

This feature could be a real life-saver. iOS 11 also introduces “Do Not Disturb While Driving” so that the screen goes totally dark when you’re on the road. You can activate this mode manually via Control Center or have it turn on automatically whenever you’re connected to CarPlay or a car’s Bluetooth. In addition, you can go into your Do Not Disturb Settings to setup an automatic response to all your incoming texts to alert people that you’re driving and will get back to them as soon as you arrive.

Document scanner in Notes

There’s no reason to run to the office scanner anymore, thanks to iOS 11. Using the Notes app you can now press the plus (+) sign to access an all-new document scanner. You can scan several documents at once and apply different filters. The scans can be saved inside your Notes, and you can also export them as PDF files that are Markup-friendly, so you can add your signature and send it back.

Search for handwritten Notes

Another cool feature that iOS 11 brings to Notes is the ability to search for things you’ve written our by hand. If you prefer to take notes using your finger or your Apple Pencil on iPad Pro, they are now searchable.

QuickType keyboard improvements

iOS 11 also makes significant improvements to the software keyboard. On iPhone, you can press-down on the globe icon and choose one-handed mode. This will bring all the keys closer to either the left or right side of the screen to make it easier to type with one hand. You can also make one-handed mode your default keyboard by going into Settings. For iPad, you can now type numbers, symbols, and punctuation marks without switching to a secondary keyboard. Simply flick down on the key to insert the character you need.

What we’re still waiting for

Apple previewed a lot of new features for iOS 11, but not all of them are yet available. Here’s a quick look at what’s to come later this fall.

1. Apple Pay Cash for sending or receiving cash within Messages

2. Indoor maps for Apple Maps to help you navigate popular shopping centers and major airports worldwide.

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Uninstall now! Apple abandons QuickTime for Windows despite lingering critical flaws

Apple is giving up on QuickTime for Windows.

Yet another program is joining Java 6 and Windows XP as big-name software you do not want running on your PC. Security firmTrend Micro and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security are advising all Windows users to uninstall Apple’s QuickTime as soon as possible. (The advisory does not affect Mac users.)

The reason for getting rid of QuickTime for Windows is twofold. First, Apple told Trend Micro it is deprecating the software and will no longer deliver security updates for it. Second, there are two known critical vulnerabilities that could allow an attacker to take control of a system running QuickTime.

That’s a hellacious combo.

Apple was unavailable for comment at this writing, but a quick look at QuickTime’s download page shows the software is still publicly available. It hasn’t been updated since at least January, however.

Trend Micro says it does not yet know of any instances where the two potential security threats are being used in the wild but that could change. Trend Micro’s Zero Day Initiative recently published some technical details about the vulnerabilities. ZDI did this because its disclosure policy requires it to publish threat information when a “vendor indicates that the product is deprecated,” and thus won’t be patched.

If you’re a longtime user of iTunes you may be running QuickTime. To dump the program, open the Control Panel on your PC and then from the “category” view go to Programs > Uninstall a program. Once the list of installed programs populates, scroll down until you find QuickTime. Select it with your mouse, and then click Uninstall towards the top of the window. A pop-up window will then appear asking to confirm that you want to uninstall the program. Click Yes and you’ll be QuickTime-free in no time.

A survey published by Secunia Research in late 2015 found that Apple software is among the programs that are updated the least often by Windows users.

Why this matters: Whenever software is about to be abandoned it’s always a good idea to move away from it—or at least start planning to. That goes double for software with known flaws that allow the bad guys to execute code on your machine. QuickTime used to be an important piece of software for Windows users. But these days you don’t need it to watch movie trailers on Apple’s site and it’s no longer used by iTunes to play media on Windows. There’s little reason for the vast majority of Windows users to keep QuickTime on their PCs.

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What’s new (and still to come) in Microsoft’s Office 2016 for Windows

Microsoft’s Office 2016 suite for Windows 7, 8 and 10 PCs and tablets is available since September 22, 2015. Here’s what’s new and what’s still to come for Office users.

Microsoft made a first public preview of the suite — which runs on Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 10 PCs and laptops — back in March of 2015. Testers had been working with private previews of the suite since 2014.

The full Office for Windows 2016 suite includes new versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Project, Visio and Access.

There are not a lot of major new features in this release. Microsoft’s main focus with the new version of Office for Windows has been on adding team-collaboration functionality. Among some of the new features in the suite are coauthoring for Word, PowerPoint and OneNote; real-time typing in Word; new integrated Power BI publishing functionality in Excel; and updated search and navigational capabilities in Outlook.

Users who subscribe via Office 365 consumer and/or business plans which include rights to the Office apps also get will get additional, supplemental services and features, including Microsoft’s Sway digital-storytelling app/service; new Office 365 Groups functionality; and more.

As is the case with Windows 10, Microsoft is planning to fill out some of the partially baked Office 2016 features in the suite with regular updates in the coming months. Microsoft is still working on improving and syncing its OneDrive online-storage service. The promised new sync clients for Windows and Mac are due later this year. Built-in coauthoring for the other Office 2016 apps beyond Word is also still in the works. And Enterprise Data Protection, a security feature that Microsoft has promised for Windows 10, also will be coming for Office 2016 for Windows in early 2016, and the Office Mobile apps later this year, company officials said.

Starting with the Office 2016 for Windows release, Microsoft is moving to a new servicing model for Office 365 which is similar to the one it has put in place for Windows 10, with different servicing “branches” providing users with new Office features and fixes on a regular basis.

While on the subject of dates, here’s what Microsoft officials are saying in terms of availability for Office 2016 for Windows (and other related Office apps and services).

The Office 2016 apps are available in 40 languages starting today. Office 365 subscribers can choose to download manually the new Office 2016 apps as part of their subscription starting today. Automatic updates of the Office 2016 apps will begin rolling out to consumer and small business subscribers in October 2015, and to commercial customers early next year. Office 2016 is also available today as a one-time purchase for both PCs and Macs.

Update:

A Microsoft spokesperson said MSDN subscribers will have access to both Office 2016 for Mac and Windows today, starting at about 9 am PT/noon ET. Volume Licensing Service Center (VLSC) availability for Office 2016 for Windows will be October 1. (VLSC customers got Office 2016 for Mac in August.)

Office 365 Planner, the lightweight project-management service (formerly codenamed “Highlander”), which Microsoft is building into its Office 365 business subscriptions, will be available in preview to Office 365 First Release customers starting next quarter. And GigJam — a new task-completion service which Microsoft demonstrated earlier this summer — is in private preview as of today, and will be available to Office 365 business subscribers in 2016.

Office 2016 for Windows and Office 2016 for Mac are Microsoft’s two fully-featured Office desktop suites. The company also offers a variety of universal’ and/or mobile Office mobile apps for iPhones, iPads, Android phones and tablets, Windows Phones and Windows PCs and tablets.

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Old Windows PCs can stop WannaCry ransomware with new Microsoft patch

In a rare step, Microsoft published a patch for Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 and Windows 8

Users of old Windows systems can now download a patch to protect them from this week’s massive ransomware attack.

In a rare step, Microsoft published a patch for Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 and Windows 8 — all of them operating systems for which it no longer provides mainstream support.

Users can download and find more information about the patches in Microsoft’s blog post about Friday’s attack from the WannaCry ransomware.

The ransomware, which has spread globally, has been infecting computers by exploiting a Windows vulnerability involving the Server Message Block protocol, a file-sharing feature.

Computers infected with WannaCry will have their data encrypted, and display a ransom note demanding $300 or $600 in bitcoin to free the files.

Fortunately, Windows 10 customers were not targeted in Friday’s attack. In March, Microsoft patched the vulnerability that the ransomware exploits — but only for newer Windows systems. That’s left older Windows machines, or those users who failed to patch newer machines, vulnerable to Friday’s attack.

Researchers originally believed the ransomware was spread through attachments in email phishing campaigns. That no longer appears to be the case.

Infection attempts from the WannaCry ransomware.

Once a vulnerable PC becomes infected, the computer will attempt to spread to other machines over the local network as well as over the internet. The ransomware will specifically scan for unpatched machines that have the Server Message Block vulnerability exposed.

Businesses can prevent this by disabling the Server Message Block protocol in vulnerable PCs. They can also use a firewall to block unrecognized internet traffic from accessing the networking ports the Server Message Block uses.

Fortunately, Friday’s ransomware attack may have been contained. A security researcher who goes by the name MalwareTech has activated a sort of kill-switch in WannaCry that stops it from spreading.

As a result, over 100,000 new infections were prevented, according to U.K.’s National Cyber Security Centre. But experts also warn that WannaCry’s developers may be working on other versions that won’t be easy to disable.

“It’s very important everyone understands that all they (the hackers) need to do is change some code and start again. Patch your systems now!” MalwareTech tweeted.

Unfortunately, the kill-switch’s activation will provide no relief to existing victims. The ransomware will persist on systems already infected.

Friday’s ransomware attack appears to have spread mainly in Europe and Asia, with Russia among those nations hardest hit, according to security researchers.

Security experts are advising victims to wait before paying the ransom. It’s possible that researchers will develop a free solution that can remove the infection.

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Atari’s Ataribox console will run Linux

Cost $250-$300, if it ever materializes

Now it just needs an E.T. game.

Atari announced in June that it was getting back into the hardware business, with plans for an upcoming “Ataribox” console. Of course, it didn’t release any actual details at the time—only a slick-looking render of a retro-styled box, complete with real wood paneling. Oh, plus a promise to crowdfund the upcoming console.

If alarm bells just started ringing in your head, visions of another Ouya-style disaster, well we can’t say those fears are unfounded. This week Atari further detailed the Ataribox to GamesBeat, and the plan seems even weirder than before.

According to Ataribox creator Feargal Mac, we’re looking at a device that will a) run Linux and b) cost in the neighborhood of $250 to $300. Featuring a custom AMD processor and launching alongside a catalog of classic Atari games, GamesBeat writes, “the idea is to create a box that makes people feel nostalgic about the past, but it’s also capable of running the independent games they want to play today, like Minecraft or Terraria.”

You know what? Best of luck to them. If Valve couldn’t make the Linux-centric living room PC a hot item, though, We’re not sure that Atari will be able to. And that’s all this is—a very cheap Steam Machine, cheaper even than Alienware’s quaint little model.

Is that enough? Probably not. The problem, as always, is the games. Linux gaming is worlds better than it was a few years ago, especially if Atari focuses on the indie scene. Still, we’re talking a pretty small subset of available titles. Atari’s trotted out the ol’ Valve line of “You can install Windows on it if you want,” and that’s not a great omen in my mind.

And even a $250 Ataribox is still plenty expensive considering this thing won’t run any big-budget games. You can buy an Xbox One S for $250 right now on Amazon, and a PlayStation 4 is only $50 more expensive. Sure, it’s a console, but it’ll at least play Wolfenstein II just as easily as it’ll play Terraria.

Atari’s also been quiet about how you’ll control the Ataribox. GamesBeat mentions a “user interface [Atari is] customizing for TVs,” so I assume a controller, but every photo of the Ataribox is just the console on its own. Hell, for all we know Atari will be buying Steam Controllers in bulk and packaging them with the system. Might as well. Those who want to get into the system level and tinker, though, will probably need a keyboard and mouse, which isn’t very living room-friendly.

One last red flag: It’s still being crowdfunded. Plans are for an Indiegogo campaign later this fall, with a release scheduled for Spring 2018. We’ll keep you updated.

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Windows phones’ free-fall may force Microsoft to push harder on Windows 10 adoption

Microsoft needs to protect its access to your wallet.

Windows_Phone_logo

Poor little Windows phone could have a bigger effect on Microsoft’s business than you’d think. As the company’s mobile device strategy continues to disintegrate, Microsoft may feel compelled to push harder on Windows 10 adoption and paid services to prove it can survive without a viable smartphone—and that could be bad news for consumers.

The raw numbers are shocking: Microsoft sold a minuscule 2.3 million Lumia phones last quarter, down from 8.6 million a year ago. Phone revenue declines will only “steepen” during the current quarter, chief financial officer Amy Hood warned during a conference call. That’s dragged down Microsoft’s results as a company, too.

Chief executive Satya Nadella opened his remarks to analysts optimistically, however, by noting that Windows 10 now powers 270 million devices in active use, a steady increase in its user base since the formal launch of Windows 10 last July. Later on, he summed up Microsoft’s message: “In this world, what matters most is the mobility of a person’s experience, not any one single device,” he said.

Will Wall Street buy it? If it does, Nadella will be free to continue. But if investors begin to get cold feet, you might see Microsoft push Windows 10 more aggressively to keep its numbers up.

Microsoft

Selling hardware to sell services

Nadella’s strategy is simple enough: grow Microsoft’s revenues, in part by convincing customers to adopt its paid subscription services. The most direct way is through sales of Surface or Lumia hardware. If that fails, then a third-party Windows 10 PC will suffice. Failing that, Microsoft apps like Bing or Cortana running on iOS or Android are acceptable as well.

But what Microsoft really wants is to sign you up for paid subscription services: Office 365 and Xbox Live, plus the corresponding enterprise licenses for Windows 10, Office 365, and Azure. ”Overall, the thing that we’re most focused on with Office 365 is how do we make sure we have the Office 365 endpoints everywhere, [with] good usage,” Nadella said.

bing-home-page

According to Verto, which measures online audience across all devices, Microsoft has four online properties with more than 100 million users per month: Microsoft Live (177.1 million), Bing (138.9 million), Microsoft Office (136.3 million), and MSN (121.5 million). Skype has 83.7 million users.

Viewed through the lens of “constant currency” adjustments that discount inflation, Microsoft’s strategy seems to be working: commercial Office 365 license revenue was up 7 percent, consumer Office 365 license revenue by 6 percent. Windows non-Pro revenue growth was 15 percent, though Pro revenue to the commercial market dipped by 11 percent. Xbox Live active users are now at 46 million, up 24 percent from a year ago.

Hidden dangers

Peer a little closer, though, and you begin to see signals that may be worrying the more impatient sectors of Wall Street. For one, device revenue is expected to continue falling. Save for a $12.7 billion holiday quarter, revenue in Microsoft’s “More Personal Computing” group has bumped along each quarter for the past year at about $9.3 billion or so. It’s expected to fall to between $8.7 billion and $9 billion this quarter, CFO Amy Hood said, apparently all attributable to the decline in phone sales.

The PC is the most frequently used device to access Microsoft services, Verto found, with 195.6 million monthly users. The smartphone is second, with 85.8 million users—but few of those devices are Windows phones.

lumia950

”Microsoft is clearly in an interesting position,” said Hannu Verkasalo, the chief executive of Verto, in an emailed statement.Microsoft has said in the past that the service matters more than the device, and the company does have software traction. “They have quickly pushed their mobile reach with their new device agnostic strategy,” Verkasalo continued.

Here’s the catch: “Even though they still have twice as many users using Microsoft services on PCs versus smartphones,” Verksala pointed out, “the mobile segment is the growth area.”Lacking a viable mobile device, Microsoft is missing out on opportunities to get even closer to users—and their wallets—in this growth area.

There’s also some evidence that Microsoft isn’t selling services as quickly as it could. Microsoft added just 1.6 million Office 365 consumer subscribers during the quarter, for a total of just 22.2 million users. Remember, at least 60 million Windows 10 PCs were sold during that quarter alone.

Keep your eyes open

All this means that the process of locking in customers to the Microsoft platform might be taking longer than expected. To date, investors haven’t minded, generally cheering Nadella’s leadership and sending the company’s stock up to near its all-time high in 1999.

But given Microsoft’s lower earnings and revenue—and downward guidance in key business units—it’s possible Microsoft may come under greater pressure to make its Windows 10 vision a reality. That’s not necessarily great news for consumers.

We all know how Microsoft originally made Windows 10 a free update, then began essentially forcing upgrades on users. To be fair, the company hasn’t stopped rolling out updates and new features, with the so-called Anniversary Update on the horizon.

So far, the company has taken the same “softly, softly” approach to Office 365: New Skype for Business features essentially require Office 365, as do new unsafe email warnings for Outlook. But what might Microsoft do if it feels it needs to make Office 365 stickier—put all of Office Online behind a paywall, perhaps?

Several analysts questioned Microsoft about potential profit margin declines. Nadella and other Microsoft executives indicated they’re staying the course. Eventually, though, Wall Street is going to take a harder look at how Microsoft’s strategy is playing out—and the one-year anniversary of Windows 10 could be the ideal time.

Say what you will about Windows 10 and privacy—Microsoft remains generally benign. But if investors start putting the screws in, you can’t help but wonder if there will be more pressure to pay up.

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New Website Design – Camden County Partnership for Children

The Website Design team of South Jersey Techies has been constantly working on developing great looking websites using the latest web technologies. The most recent website developed by our team is for Camden County Partnership for Children who offer families in Camden County the help and care that they need. Camden County Partnership for Children works very closely with Family Partners to ensure their services are truly responsive to the needs of families.

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South Jersey Techies, LLC is a full Managed Web and IT Services Company located in Marlton, NJ providing IT Services, Managed IT Services, Website Design Services, Server Support, IT Consulting, VoIP Phones, Cloud Solutions Provider and much more. Contact Us Today.

Microsoft 365 Business: Get Office + Windows 10 in one SMB-friendly subscription

Will preview $20/month software-as-a-service plan Aug. 2

Earlier this week, Microsoft introduced two additional software-as-a-service subscription plans to the partners who will try to sell them.

The pair join an increasing number of subscription deals that the Redmond, Wash. company has modeled on the Office 365 pattern. The new plans even carry the “365” label, which Microsoft sees as a unifying identifier.

Microsoft 365 is, as CEO Satya Nadella introduced it Monday, “a fundamental departure in how we think about product creation,” composed of, initially at least, two plans. The more expensive, Microsoft 365 Enterprise, is simply a new name for a year-old, two-tier product titled “Secure Productive Enterprise E3” and “Secure Productive Enterprise E5.” Those SKUs (stock-keeping units) were introduced at Microsoft’s 2016 partner conference. Like SPE, M365 Enterprise tosses Windows 10 Enterprise, Office 365 and Enterprise Mobility + Security into a bucket.

But “Microsoft 365 Business,” or M365 Business for short, is the more interesting of the two plans because it is actually new. Nadella thought the same. “I’m so excited about the product innovation that you will see today around small and medium-sized businesses,” he said during a two-hour keynote before partners.

So, what’s Microsoft 365 Business?

That’s the new deal Microsoft will push later this year after an unspecified time in preview, which will start Aug. 2.

M365 Business includes:

Office 365 Business Premium, a software-and-service plan that includes all the Office applications, hosted Exchange email, OneDrive storage service and more. Alone, Office 365 Business Premium costs $12.50 per user per month when billed on an annual basis.

Windows 10 Pro: Devices currently running Windows 7 Professional or Windows 8.1 Pro may be upgraded to Windows 10 Pro under M365 Business.

Windows 10 Business: According to Microsoft, “Windows 10 Business is a set of cloud-[based] services and device management capabilities that complement Windows 10 Pro and enable the centralized management and security controls of Microsoft 365 Business.” The services and tools include a subset of those from Intune, Microsoft’s enterprise mobility management (EMM) platform, as well as Windows AutoPilot, an automated deployment service bundled with Windows 10’s March 2017 feature upgrade, aka 1703 and Creators Update.

How much does M365 Business cost?

$20 per user per month when it launches later this year.

That’s $7.50 per user per month more than Office 365 Business Premium, or an extra $90 per user annually. For that amount, customers receive the difference between the two plans: the upgrade to Windows 10 Pro and the various management service components.

Who is Microsoft 365 Business for?

According to Microsoft, the plan is “built for small and midsize customers that have little to no IT resources on staff.”

Although companies of any size can purchase M365 Business licenses, any one customer can buy no more than 300 subscriptions, another signal that it aims at small and medium-sized organizations.

The limited management tools also play to that theme. They’re designed to be easy to use and offer only basic functionality, and are accessed via simple control panels similar to what they may have already used for Office 365.

What’s the Windows 10 upgrade all about in M365 Business?

Microsoft’s descriptions of this component are sketchy thus far. An extensive company Q&A on the subscription plan had the most information, saying, “If you have devices that are licensed for Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 Professional, Microsoft 365 Business provides an upgrade to Windows 10 Pro.” (The “Professional” label holds for Windows 7, but 8 and 8.1 are dubbed “Pro” instead, as is Windows 10.)

Computerworld was unable to unearth additional details of the upgrade, specifically what happens when a customer cancels a M365 Business subscription or lets one expire. Do devices that were upgraded from Windows 7 Professional to Windows 10 Pro retain the latter license? Or is the Windows 10 license revoked, forcing customers to reinstall the previous OS?

Microsoft declined to answer questions about that scenario, and analysts who had been briefed by the company said that licensing issues were not discussed in Microsoft’s presentation.

The matter of expiring subscriptions requires context. Generally, when customers exit a subscription, say, Office 365, the applications and services will retreat into a reduced functionality mode or stop working entirely. Something similar happens after a subscription to Windows 10 Enterprise E3 or E5 lapses. “When a subscription license expires … the Windows 10 Enterprise device seamlessly steps back down to Windows 10 Pro,” Microsoft states in a support document.

In other instances, Microsoft doesn’t strip away an upgrade. Customers who have subscribed to Windows 10 Enterprise E3 or E5 may upgrade devices equipped with Windows 7 Professional or 8.1 Pro, to Windows 10 Pro; if they later depart the E3 or E5 plan, the Windows 10 license permanently remains in place.

Which of these options remains — cancellation or retention — is what’s unclear in the case of M365 Business.

What management tools does M365 Business include?

Enough, says Microsoft, to adequately serve small and mid-sized businesses.

What Microsoft calls “a simplified management console” controls device and user management functions. The tools bundled in M365 Business include:

Auto-install (and easy uninstall) Office
Wipe company data from devices, both company- and employee-owned
Enforce user settings on devices, including access to Windows Store or use of Cortana
Force users to save all work to OneDrive for Business
Configure new PCs as well as existing systems running Windows 10 Pro 1703 (Creators Update) or later using AutoPilot
Automatically update and upgrade Windows 10 PCs using Windows Update for Business

We heard there’s a preview of M365 Business. What’s that deal?

Yes, there will be a preview available starting, Microsoft’s said, on Wednesday, Aug. 2. The preview will be accessible from this website. Users may, in fact, sign up now for the preview on that page.

Although there is no charge for the preview, Microsoft recommended that potential customers contact their preferred Microsoft Partner — or locate one — to handle the M365 Business deployment.

Interestingly, Microsoft said, “Devices running Windows 7 [Professional] or 8.1 Pro are eligible for an upgrade to Windows 10 Pro within the Microsoft 365 Business preview.” It was unclear whether that upgrade would be retained or retracted at the end of the preview.

What does M365 Business require?

According to Microsoft, Windows 7 Professional PCs “likely meet the minimum requirements.” However, only Windows 10 devices can be managed in M365 Business, a powerful motivator for equipping as many systems as possible with the newer OS.

The other major precondition for the subscription — Azure Active Directory (AAD) — is necessary to enforce user and device policies set in the management console, and for other tasks, such as AutoPilot set-up. Microsoft acknowledged that on-premises Active Directory works with M365 Business, but “it is not recommended.”

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Symantec Endpoint Protection (SBE)- Upgrading the cloud agent

Symantec has recently become aware of a medium vulnerability in older versions of the server agent. The latest version addresses this vulnerability in new installations and was released February 15th, 2017. Server agents that are not already upgraded will be identified in the SEP SBE cloud management console starting on March 8th. A manual upgrade will be required to ensure you have the latest protection.

Symantec Endpoint Protection Small Business Edition (SEP SBE) cloud uses LiveUpdate to upgrade the cloud and the endpoint protection agents on workstations and servers. There also multiple methods for manually updating agents if required.

Server LiveUpdate
Server upgrades are handled independently of workstations and often require manual intervention.
See Server agent LiveUpdate.

Workstation LiveUpdate

Workstation upgrades are independent of server upgrades and tend to happen more frequently.

Workstations get the latest antivirus, policy, and agent upgrades automatically. However, you can use LiveUpdate to force the workstations to update using the Check for Updates menu option in the notification area of the agent. This option is useful when an agent has been offline for a considerable period of time.

The upgrade does not require any user interaction, but it may prompt for a computer restart.

Manual upgrade

Use any of the manual methods available to upgrade if you don’t have the latest agent.

See Manually upgrading your agent.

Mac upgrade

Use any of the manual methods available to upgrade your unmanaged (but licensed) Mac computer to the latest macOS.

See Upgrading your Mac computer.

Are my agents upgraded?

You can check if an agent requires an update from the Computers page of the console.

How to check agent version?

You can check an agent’s version from the Computer Profile page of the console.

You can also view the version from Help->About on the agent’s user interface.

Unused agents

To ensure full protection across your entire organization, delete the agents that are no longer used and are offline.

Troubleshoot

If you experience issues during the upgrade or install process, see the following:

Cannot install or activate clients due to blocked domains

Error: “Pending License Activation” or “Service Expired” on the client

Error: “LiveUpdate operations are unable to finish” when the server upgrades using LiveUpdate

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Microsoft Office for iPad is here!

Edit, work, create, and get more done from your iPad, for free

Four new, free apps are available on your iPad®. With both Microsoft OneDrive and Dropbox access, online storage—and access to your files—is always just a click away on your iPad. The new Microsoft Office apps give you the ability to flat out get more done.

With the new Microsoft Word app, you can edit, create, and save your docs, wherever work takes you
The new Excel app lets you analyze your data on the fly
Build and deliver your presentations—right from your tablet or phone—with the new PowerPoint app
The new Microsoft OneNote app helps you work collaboratively and stay organized on the go

With these apps, you can now access, edit, and save directly to your Dropbox account. You can even open and edit files that have already been saved in Dropbox.

Adding Dropbox is easy. When you are in any of the new apps, follow these simple steps:

1. Tap on the arrow in the top left, then tap Open
2. Tap “Add a Place”
3. Select Dropbox

To get the Office apps for iPad®, open www.appstore.com/microsoftoffice from your iPad’s web browser.

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