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Category: Tips & Info

Tips & Info Category

Microsoft Offers $40 Windows 8 Pro Upgrade

We set out to make it as easy as possible for everyone to upgrade to Windows 8. Starting at general availability, if your PC is running Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7 you will qualify to download an upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for just $39.99 in 131 markets. And if you want, you can add Windows Media Center for free through the “add features” option within Windows 8 Pro after your upgrade.

When you use Windows.com to purchase an upgrade to Windows 8 Pro, the Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant makes upgrading simple by walking you through the upgrade process step-by-step from purchase to download and then of course installation.

The Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant will check to make sure your PC is ready for Windows 8. It will provide a detailed compatibility report that lets you know of anything you may have to address before or after the upgrade and outlines actions to take.

It will also inform you of any application or device compatibility issues. It will ask you what you want to keep from your current Windows installation. You will be able to upgrade from any consumer edition of Windows 7 to Windows 8 Pro and bring everything along which includes your Windows settings, personal files, and apps. If you are upgrading from Windows Vista, you will be able to bring along your Windows settings and personal files, and if you are upgrading from Windows XP you will only be able to bring along your personal files. Of course, if you want to start fresh, you can choose to bring nothing along. Or if you prefer to format your hard drive as part of your upgrade experience, you can do so as long as you boot from media and then format your hard drive from within the setup experience for installing Windows 8, not prior to it.

Once you purchase your upgrade, the Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant kicks off your download. It has a built-in download manager that allows you to pause and continue your download at any time as well as a check to ensure your download completes successfully.

After your download finishes, you can choose to proceed with the upgrade (“Install now”) or install later either from your desktop or by creating your own media. If you choose to create your own media, you will be able to create your own bootable USB or .ISO file which can be burned onto a DVD for upgrade and backup purposes. If you prefer, you also have the option of purchasing a backup DVD for $15 plus shipping and handling.

We believe that your upgrade experience in Windows 8 will be a breeze by offering a faster experience, a single upgrade path, and compatibility from prior versions of Windows. We’ve continued to listen to our customers and have expanded the ability to download to over 100 countries and 37 languages. We have simplified the Windows upgrade experience with the Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant which supports you during your upgrade with everything from selecting your language to pausing your download to built-in compatibility checks – it’s seamless. And if you’re an enthusiast you will have the flexibility to download and control how you upgrade.

If you prefer to shop at a local store, a packaged DVD version of the upgrade to Windows 8 Pro will be available for $69.99 during this promotion.

This upgrade promotion for Windows 8 Pro both online and at retail runs through January 31st, 2013.

Oh, and by the way – if you’re not upgrading from a prior version of Windows and are building your own PC or installing Windows 8 in a virtual machine or a separate partition, you will be able to purchase and install the Windows 8 and Windows 8 Pro System Builder product.

Save Your Place In Word With Macros

Save your place in word a document using macros!

Takeaway: Use these two simple Word macros to temporarily bookmark a spot you want to return to later.

Large documents offer a few navigating challenges, especially when you need to jump back and forth between two areas. You could split the document, but that splits the screen and that might not be the right solution for you. Or, you could use any of the normal navigation tools and shortcuts, but it’s easy to get lost that way. Using VBA, you can insert a bookmark that acts as a placeholder. Then, when you’re ready to return, a single quick click is all that’s required.

This technique requires two quick macros, which follow:

Public Sub InsertBookmark ()

‘Insert bookmark for srz.

Call Bookmarks.Add(“srz”, Selection.Range)

End Sub

Public Sub ReturnToBookmark ()

‘Return to previously inserted bookmark.

ActiveDocument. Bookmarks(“srz”).Range.Select

End Sub

To add the macros, press [Alt]+[F11] to launch the Visual Basic Editor (VBE). In the Project Explorer, find ThisDocument for the current document. Then, enter the two sub procedures shown above.

Next, return to the document and add the macros to the Quick Access Toolbar (QAT), as follows:

  1. From the QAT dropdown, choose More Commands.
  2. From the Choose Commands From dropdown, choose Macros.
  3. In the list on the left, find InsertBookmark.
  4. Click Add to add the macro to the list of commands on the right.
  5. With the macro still selected, click Modify.
  6. In the resulting dialog, enter Mark in the Display Name control, and click OK. You could also change the macro’s display icon.
  7. Repeat steps 3 through 6 to add ReturnToBookmark to the list on the right and add the display name, Return.
  8. Click OK.
In Word 2003, drag the macros to the toolbar as follows:

 

  1. Launch the Customize dialog box by double-clicking a toolbar or menu or by choosing Customize from the Tools menu.
  2. Click the Commands tab.
  3. Choose Macros from the Categories list.
  4. Find InsertBookmark in the Commands list and drag it to the toolbar.
  5. Find Return ToBookmark and drag it to the toolbar.
  6. Click Close.
Using the macros is simple. 

South Jersey Techies A High Quality VOIP Provider

VOIP

South Jersey Techies

 

South Jersey Techies is a high quality VOIP provider.

Our VOIP Solutions let you combine voice and data into a single, easy to manage service and helps you focus on your business, not your network and phone systems.

You can control how your calls are routed from a simple, web based portal accessible from any browser in the world. Use the Find-me/Follow-me feature to make sure you never miss another important call, no matter where you are. With this premium level feature, you get to decide which business calls get through to you at your desk, your cell phone or even at home if you like. You also get to decide which callers go directly to voice mail without even ringing your line.

South Jersey Techies offers a wide range of VOIP Phone Services.  We also offer cheaper, simpler plans that include both local and nationwide long distance calling.

With our hosted VoIP solution there is no expensive PBX equipment in your office to go down, fail or get damaged during a storm. Only your IP phone handsets reside in your office, and those can be easily taken out and moved at any time.

“Go VOIP – Go Green – it has a good ring to it don’t you think”

South Jersey Techies VoIP systems are more energy efficient and help reduce the need for work related travel and car usage.  Our VOIP Solutions also help reduce paper usage. A great example of this is the fax to e-mail system enabling your company to save on paper usage as the fax no longer has to be printed out, and this applies to both incoming and outgoing faxes.

South Jersey Techies VOIP Advantages:

  • Lower Costs: Save money by combining your phone and data networks
  • Greater Functionality
  • Less maintenance
  • Excellent Voice Clarity and Call quality
  • Free calling features with optional advanced features
  • Mobility: The ability to use your smartphone as an extension of the office phone system, including the ability to have business calls automatically directed to your cell phone and make outbound calls from your smartphone as your office number.
  • Portability: The ability to use any computer or office phone as your personal extension.
  • Flexibility: The ability to redesign your phone system on the fly by simply logging into your VoIP provider’s dashboard.

For more information please visit out websites below, we look forward to serving you:

http://southjerseytechies.net/voip.php

http://www.sjtechies.com/voip-phone-services/

Speeding Up Your Home Internet: Tricks and Tips

Though we live in an age of nearly-ubiquitous broadband, it still seems like certain pages don’t load as quickly as one would like.  After you’ve tried changing your ISP (Internet service provider), or ordering a T1 internet connection, consider that many problems can be solved with a series of tips and tricks, outlined below.

  • The first area to make changes is your browser.  Microsoft’s Internet Explorer once held an overwhelmingly large market share, but that’s no longer the case.  Browsers such as Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, and Safari from Apple have all become increasingly popular.  They are free to install and render websites much more efficiently than Internet Explorer.  Plus, they have two additional benefits, both of which can help keep your computer and internet running fast.  First, these browsers are more secure, including precautions to prevent malware such as viruses from being installed, a common cause of computer slowness.  Also, these browsers allow the user to install extensions, or programs designed to modify the browser’s functionality.
  • Extensions can be used to remedy another common cause of perceived Internet slowness.  More and more websites include Flash and JavaScript.  While neither is inherently bad, more content takes more time to load and render.  Of you feel you can do without the bells and whistles, there are extensions designed to block this content from being downloaded and shown on your computer.  AdBlock Plus just blocks advertising, but Flashblock blocks all Flash content.  If you’re not ready to go that far, ClickToFlash is a great extension.  It stops Flash content from being shown initially, but gives the user the option of clicking to display it.
  • If checking out your computer yields no positive results, your router might be to blame.  The router’s function is to take a single Internet connection and split it so that every device in the house can make use.  This is very handy, but if the router is wireless and the person installing it does not know better, it can open your network to attack.  All routers should be password protected and secured using the strongest method supported by your devices.  WPA2 authentication is currently the best.  If the network remains unprotected, your connection may be slowed by neighbors leeching from your connection.

These are only a few of the most common causes of Internet slowness.  Hopefully one of the solutions will work for you!

The Microsoft Surface, Windows 8 Tablet From Microsoft

“It embodies hardware and software working together. People want to work and play,” Steve Ballmer said today amid much fanfare at Milk Studios in downtown Los Angeles. Microsoft has officially entered the ring with the Apple IPad. Microsoft views the Windows 8 Surface Tablet  as a “stage for Windows 8.” It’s 9.3mm thin, has full size USB 2.0 ports, a massive kickstand and weighs only 1.5 lbs. The casing is made out of magnesium (specifically, a material Microsoft calls VaporMg) and screen is covered in the Gorilla Glass 2 and optically bonded, a feature for the Microsoft Windows 8 Surface Tablet brags was specifically made for the Surface Tablet. The Microsoft Windows 8 Surface Tablet is directly aimed at consumers, and with that, the iPad.

Windows 8 is at the core of  Microsoft’s Surface Tablet. As such, it’s Metro device but also has access to all the Windows, not to mention Xbox features. Microsoft Surface Tablet is clearly the product Microsoft had in mind when it announced the Xbox SmartGlass feature at E3 earlier in the month.

Microsoft also announced several accessories for the Microsoft Surface Tablet including a clever 3mm thick cover that features a full (albeit super-slim) keyboard. Since it’s held on by magnets, it will likely be called a copy of the iPad’s SmartCover, too. The backside of the Surface even features a massive, unit-wide kickstand.

There will be two hardware options for Microsoft’s Surface Tablet, with both an ARM option and, for the full Windows experience, an Intel chip.

But like most hardware, it’s nothing without the right software. Ballmer was very clear at the beginning of the announcement event that the Microsoft Surface Tablet’s strength is the Windows ecosystem. This tablet runs Windows 8, and with that, both Metro and the traditional desktop environment. Every application that runs on Windows, save perhaps Skyrim and the like, should run on a x86 Surface.

Still, if Microsoft is attempting to take on Apple, it will need to court a new crop of developers. The iPad’s strength comes from its legions of small 3rd party devs that for the most part completely ignore all things Microsoft. Up until this product, there wasn’t another tablet platform with the same sort of penetration numbers as the iPad. But with the Surface Tablet, Microsoft is essentially giving developers a massive user base as the applications will hit both mobile and desktop units — and Metro’s dedication to the touchscreen makes the deal even sweeter.

The new Windows RT-powered Surface Tablet will sport either 32 or 64GB of storage depending on the purchaser’s preference, while the more traditional Intel variant will come with either 64 or 128GB. Microsoft declined to dive into specifics about their new tablet’s release, though they were quick to note that the Surface tablets would be priced “competitively” when they make it to market.

 

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Windows 8 Launch: 15 Days and Counting

The invitations to the ball have arrived!

October 25th is going to be busy one for Microsoft watchers, fans, and foes. 

Drip, drip, drip

The Redmondians are continuing to torture us Microsoft watchers with a slow flow of information about the company’s bet-its-business launch.

We already knew Microsoft planned to launch Windows 8 and its ARM-based Surface RT devices in New York City on October 25, thanks to a save-the-date invitation we got a while back. We knew those products would become available commercially the following day, and we found out this week that Microsoft would be opening 30-plus holiday pop-up stores in the U.S. and Canada on October 26 as well.

As of October 4, we now know that the launch is going to be a lengthy affair — from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. ET.

Here’s what I just got in my in-box:

Will there also be, as some are reporting, some kind of “midnight madness” event here in New York to coincide with Windows 8 and Windows RT PCs, tablets — and Microsoft’s own Surface RTs — going on sale as of October 26? No word on that yet. (I asked.) But I’d be surprised if there wasn’t. Microsoft officials have said its Surface tablet devices will be sold only through its own brick-and-mortar stores, as well as “select” Microsoft online stores. Those without a Microsoft Store nearby will only be able to purchase online, unless Microsoft modifies its previously stated plan.

Microsoft still has not released pricing or a full and complete spec list for its Surface RT tablets/PCs. It has not yet made them available for preorder. The Intel-based Surface Pro versions are not due out until three months, give or take, after the Windows RT launch.

If you’ll be in/around New York City on October 25 and 26, stay tuned for information about a meetup/tweetup that a few of us Microsoft bloggers, including my Windows Weekly cohost and Windows SuperSite editor, Paul Thurrott, are planning. More details on that to come soon via Twitter. Hope you can join us.

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Microsoft Office Coming to Android and Apple

Microsoft Office coming to Android and Apple devices in early 2013

Summary: A Microsoft executive let slip in the Czech Republic that the long-rumored Microsoft Office for Android smartphones and tablets and Apple iPad and iPhones will be arriving in early 2013. Microsoft now denies that their executive was speaking accurately.

We’ve known for months that Microsoft was bringing a version of Microsoft Office 2013 to Android tablets and Apple’s iPad family. Now, according to the Czech tech news site, IHNED, Microsoft product manager Petr Bobek has said that Microsoft is planning to release native iOS and Android versions of Microsoft Office 2013 in the first quarter of 2013

Bobek, a Microsoft Office portfolio manager in the Czech Republic, said that these new versions of Office will be available to larger companies and Microsoft partners In December 2012. small-office/home-office (SOHO) and household users will have to wait until at least February. The online version of Office 365 edition for mobile devices and tablets will appear in early 2013.

In an e-mail, the author of the INHED story clarified that the release would be after March 2013. “We had a slight miscommunication with the MS guys and the timeline for Office for iOS and Android is not a March release, but release sometime after March.”

Officially, the only thing Microsoft had to say at first was that “As we shared previously, Office Mobile will work across Windows Phones, Android phones and iOS, and we have nothing additional to announce today about retail availability of the new Office.”

Later the same day, Microsoft’s head of corporate communications, Frank X. Shaw, denied the whole story. Shaw tweeted, “The information shared by our Czech Republic subsidiary is not accurate. We have nothing further to share.”

No matter when Microsoft delivers the Android and iOS goods, Microsoft’s support of any version of Office on a non-Windows smartphone or tablet strikes me as an odd move. In a shareholder letter, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said that Microsoft is shifting its model to focus on devices and services. This is a radical and dangerous shift for a company that’s always made it money from software licensing. And, now, instead of using Office as a crowbar to pry users from iPads and Android tablets to its Surface tablets, Microsoft is going to offer Microsoft Office 2013 on its device rivals? Odd. Very odd.

Historically, Microsoft has locked its customers into its software ecosystem. Since Microsoft is a non-starter in the mobile space, I find it surprising that they’re not trying to exploit its Office suite in a similar manner in this new market.

That said, given the early reports of Office 2013, which didn’t even have touch enabled for its tablet versions by default, I don’t see Google, with Google Docs and QuickOffice, being worried about Microsoft being a rival on either devices or services anytime soon.

Microsoft CEO Ballmer: Devices, Devices!

Summary: In case you didn’t get the memo — or CEO Steve Ballmer’s latest shareholder letter — Microsoft officially is a devices and services company now.

Microsoft really wants to make sure its shareholders, customers, partners and competitors realize it’s not just a big software company any more.

In an October 9 letter to shareholders, part of Microsoft’s just-released fiscal 2012 annual report, CEO Steve Ballmer repeated his new “devices and services company” mantra to drive it home.

Ballmer hasn’t (yet) chanted “devices, devices, devices” in front of any public or private audiences (that we know of, at least) in the way he once infamously chanted “developers, developers, developers.”

But Ballmer told The Seattle Times a few weeks back that Microsoft can and should be considered a devices and services company. The latest Ballmer shareholder letter re-emphasizes that message.

From the letter:

“Last year in this letter I said that over time, the full value of our software will be seen and felt in how people use devices and services at work and in their personal lives. This is a significant shift, both in what we do and how we see ourselves — as a devices and services company. It impacts how we run the company, how we develop new experiences, and how we take products to market for both consumers and businesses. The work we have accomplished in the past year and the roadmap in front of us brings this to life.”

The Ballmer shareholder letter also claimed again that Microsoft is still counting on its partners to produce business and consumer devices and hardware that customers want. But it’s clear Microsoft isn’t getting into the hardware game on a lark or just to incent its OEMs to make more well-designed products, as some company watchers and partners have said.

Ballmer noted that, going forward, Microsoft plans to continue to focus on the development of “new form factors that have increasingly natural ways to use them including touch, gestures and speech.”

Along with the Xbox, the Microsoft Surface — which Microsoft described as “a series of Microsoft-designed and manufactured hardware devices” in its latest proxy statement (also released today) — are here to stay and seemingly will include more products as part of the family.

Every Budget is an IT Budget

Summary: Technology will be embedded everywhere and disrupt traditional IT and the vendors and ecosystem that goes with it.

ORLANDO—Global technology spending will surpass the $4 trillion mark in 2016 and digitization of industries will ultimately force a rethink on what is IT overall, according to Gartner.

In other words, the technology pie is going to get a lot larger, but murkier.

The big theme: Cloud, mobile, social and big data will come together to create a technology boom with a bevy of challenges and disruption ahead.

“Every budget is an IT budget,” said Peter Sondergaard, senior vice president of research at Gartner. “Technology is embedded in every product.”

His point: More technology spending will occur outside traditional procurement methods. Consumers will spend more disposable income on technologies. Industries traditionally thought to be non-tech will be digitized. And technology will be embedded into everything.

There will be chief digital officers in most companies. By 2015, 25 percent of companies will have a chief digital officer. The role: Digitize the business.

Gartner’s theme at its Symposium CIO powwow is that there’s a nexus of technologies that will revamp corporate technology, vendors and employment. Nexus is a word that will be beaten to death at this annual CIO leadership therapy session. The forces inside this nexus are all interdependent.

Some takeaways to ponder from Sondergaard’s talk:

  • Big data is the killer application of the cloud.
  • The cost savings of cloud haven’t been realized—subscriptions have trumped pay as you go.
  • 80 percent of businesses are using SaaS.
  • IT departments mostly use private clouds.
  • Two versions of cloud are emerging—IT’s and everyone else.
  • Business process services in the cloud will be a $145 billion market in 2016, doubling from today.
  • Cloud will develop and transform with or without IT’s support.
  • It’s the end of the beginning for corporate IT.
  • Corporate IT needs to think mobile first in all designs.
  • Big software vendors won’t be able to think mobile first.
  • There will be more iPads in the enterprise than BlackBerries in two years.
  • Enterprises will have to spend time monitoring physical assets and the data they spew.
  • Social computing will become more important.
  • 10 organizations in the U.S. will each spend more than $1 billion on social media in 2016.
  • Automated and paid reviews will be common nefarious uses of social media.
  • Continual stream of information will transform decision-making and industries.
  • 85 percent of marketing organizations will outsource the analysis of big data.
  • Companies will be judged based on the quality of their algorithms.
  • CIOs will have to find new workers to do the big data jobs required.
  • CIOs will have to think like entrepreneurs.

And the effects of this disruption:

  • Consumers will spend more disposable income on technology spending. Consumer tech spending was 3% of disposable income in 2011. By 2015 will be 3.5 percent of spending.
  • Security infrastructure will have to be rethought completely because it could hinder progress.
  • Social and reputation wars will become an issue just like malware.
  • The IT market will change. The large IT megavendors are being challenged by at least one of the forces in the nexus. “Are your vendors accelerating your march into the future or putting the brakes on your progress?” asked Sondergaard.
  • Spending on technology outside the IT market will surpass levels inside.
  • 1.9 million IT jobs will be created in the U.S.
  • 6 million jobs in the U.S. created by information economy over the next 4 years.
  • There isn’t enough talent to fill those jobs.
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