Check out the slideshow that was used during the presentation.
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
What is West Chester Connect?
On the evening of August 28, 2013 we hosted a public forum and training to the community regarding our new service, "West Chester Connect". What is West Chester Connect?
Check out the slideshow that was used during the presentation.
Check out the slideshow that was used during the presentation.
FourSquare & Windows 8 Phone
Although Windows 8 phones do not have the sheer number of apps as their Apple and Android competitors their apps, when compared are usually much better in appearance and functionality.
For example Foursquare’s new Windows 8 app may not be the biggest deal for Foursquare, but it’s huge for Microsoft.
With the app, which was officially announced in June, Foursquare takes some of the best parts about Windows 8 — the Metro interface, live tiles, global search — and creates something that’s completely different from anything the company has released before.
That, as Foursquare business development head David Ban told VentureBeat, is exactly the point. “I think one of the most exciting things here was figuring out what we can do for this specific platform. It’s very pretty and plays well to the strengths of this OS,” Ban said.
Many of these strengths are pretty obvious on first glance: Foursquare for Windows 8 looks and feels great, and it’s clear that both Microsoft and Foursquare put a lot of thought into how to use the app to showcase the design strengths of the platform. (This was the exact strategy Microsoft and Foursquare pushed with Foursquare’s Window Phone 8 app as well.)
Again, that’s a big deal for Microsoft, which is still struggling to convince consumers why they should switch over to Windows 8. Apps like this one really support its case.
Friday, August 23, 2013
Microsoft's CEO Stand's Down
Microsoft Corp. today announced that Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer has decided to retire as CEO within the next 12 months, upon the completion of a process to choose his successor. In the meantime, Ballmer will continue as CEO and will lead Microsoft through the next steps of its transformation to a devices and services company that empowers people for the activities they value most.
“There is never a perfect time for this type of transition, but now is the right time,” Ballmer said. “We have embarked on a new strategy with a new organization and we have an amazing Senior Leadership Team. My original thoughts on timing would have had my retirement happen in the middle of our company’s transformation to a devices and services company. We need a CEO who will be here longer term for this new direction.”
The Board of Directors has appointed a special committee to direct the process. This committee is chaired by John Thompson, the board’s lead independent director, and includes Chairman of the Board Bill Gates, Chairman of the Audit Committee Chuck Noski and Chairman of the Compensation Committee Steve Luczo. The special committee is working with Heidrick & Struggles International Inc., a leading executive recruiting firm, and will consider both external and internal candidates.
“The board is committed to the effective transformation of Microsoft to a successful devices and services company,” Thompson said. “As this work continues, we are focused on selecting a new CEO to work with the company’s senior leadership team to chart the company’s course and execute on it in a highly competitive industry.”
“As a member of the succession planning committee, I’ll work closely with the other members of the board to identify a great new CEO,” said Gates. “We’re fortunate to have Steve in his role until the new CEO assumes these duties.”
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
Thursday, August 22, 2013
Using Sharepoint
To add files to your Sharepoint library first login to your Microsoft 365 account at login.microsoftonline.com.
Once you are on the "Sharepoint" page you will see an sites you are a member of. For this case, you want top open the "team Site" which is where our organization stores and shares organizational documents and cooperative projects.
Once you are the "team site" you will be able to see and announcements regarding newly posted documents or files. Libraries are basically folders of related documents, such as "HR Documents" and "Internal Policies".
In this case the Library we will use is "Contracts & Insurance". In this "library" there are folders for each year starting with 2013.
You will be able to open any document that has been stored here as well as uploading a new document. To add a document to the library select "new document". Select upload existing file. Then brose to find the document you would like to upload to the library.
Browse out to your computer and find the desired file, select it and "OK". That's it. Your document is now part of the library!
A future post will cover the steps for connecting any Sharepoint library to your Outlook client.
Once logged in select "Sites" on the top menu bar.
Once you are on the "Sharepoint" page you will see an sites you are a member of. For this case, you want top open the "team Site" which is where our organization stores and shares organizational documents and cooperative projects.
Once you are the "team site" you will be able to see and announcements regarding newly posted documents or files. Libraries are basically folders of related documents, such as "HR Documents" and "Internal Policies".
You will be able to open any document that has been stored here as well as uploading a new document. To add a document to the library select "new document". Select upload existing file. Then brose to find the document you would like to upload to the library.
Browse out to your computer and find the desired file, select it and "OK". That's it. Your document is now part of the library!
A future post will cover the steps for connecting any Sharepoint library to your Outlook client.
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Windows 8's Yoga
Microsoft has released a new iPad versus Windows 8 commercial and it might be the best one yet. The 31-second commercial shows how the Lenovo Yoga offers all of the features of the iPad while in tablet mode, and then when needed, flips to the standard laptop layout while those with iPads waste time trying to attach a keyboard.
The reason why this commercial is so important is because it shows a real-world scenario of how the Lenovo Yoga bests that of the iPad in the classroom and that it is a great companion for those who students are heading back to school. Of course, seeing that the commercial came out in late August and many are already in the classroom, this commercial may have been better suited to air over the summer before the back to school goods were purchased.
While this commercial is a new spin on Microsoft’s iPad vs Windows 8 PCs, Microsoft does conveniently leave out the price, with the Yoga 11s starting at $749. While obviously more expensive, depending on how you equip the iPad, it can reach easily into that price point. In addition although this commercial displays the Yoga 11 I would tend to go with Microsoft's Surface Pro for college students.
The reason why this commercial is so important is because it shows a real-world scenario of how the Lenovo Yoga bests that of the iPad in the classroom and that it is a great companion for those who students are heading back to school. Of course, seeing that the commercial came out in late August and many are already in the classroom, this commercial may have been better suited to air over the summer before the back to school goods were purchased.
While this commercial is a new spin on Microsoft’s iPad vs Windows 8 PCs, Microsoft does conveniently leave out the price, with the Yoga 11s starting at $749. While obviously more expensive, depending on how you equip the iPad, it can reach easily into that price point. In addition although this commercial displays the Yoga 11 I would tend to go with Microsoft's Surface Pro for college students.
Monday, August 19, 2013
Word Tip: Clear That Format
Many times when you copy text from another source (document, webpage etc), the formatting of that particular text never comes out the way you want it to. This happens because the copy command basically copies not only the text but also the various formatting done to the text (bold, underline, font size, hyperlinks etc).
However, the formatting can easily be removed with a single click in a Word document. Microsoft Word’s latest 2013 version and all previous versions provide a very simple way to remove formatting on a selected text.
"Clear Formatting" is Only a Button Away
To remove formatting, select the text you want the formatting to be done on and hit the ‘Clear Formatting’ button on the top navigation bar. This will convert the selected text to its original unformatted form.
Shortcuts for "Clear Formatting"
And there’s an even faster way to remove formatting, with the help of shortcut keys. Simply select the part of the text you want formatted, and press CTRL + Spacebar to remove all character formatting (font size, font styles, colors etc) and CTRL + Q to remove all paragraph formatting (text alignment, bullets, numbering etc).
However, the formatting can easily be removed with a single click in a Word document. Microsoft Word’s latest 2013 version and all previous versions provide a very simple way to remove formatting on a selected text.
"Clear Formatting" is Only a Button Away
To remove formatting, select the text you want the formatting to be done on and hit the ‘Clear Formatting’ button on the top navigation bar. This will convert the selected text to its original unformatted form.
Shortcuts for "Clear Formatting"
And there’s an even faster way to remove formatting, with the help of shortcut keys. Simply select the part of the text you want formatted, and press CTRL + Spacebar to remove all character formatting (font size, font styles, colors etc) and CTRL + Q to remove all paragraph formatting (text alignment, bullets, numbering etc).
Sunday, August 18, 2013
Outlook.com Outage Explained
Last week Microsoft suffered an almost three day service interruption effecting their Outlook.com email service. Outlook.com formally known at Hotmail is very popular and is an excellent free email platform. However a three day service problem is really unusual and not something any service provider wants to experience.
It may have taken three days, but Microsoft has officially resolved its Outlook.com outage -- and it has both explanations and long-term solutions for affected email users. Trouble began with the failure of a caching service for Exchange ActiveSync. The resulting deluge of reconnection attempts promptly overwhelmed company servers; a slow recovery was necessary to avoid another meltdown, Microsoft says. To prevent repeat incidents, the tech giant is both upgrading its network capacity and implementing a more elegant error handling system. While the fixes likely come too late for some users, they suggest that Microsoft has learned a hard lesson about the fragility of online services.Thursday, August 15, 2013
Outlook.com & SkyDrive Outage Over
Our organization has been in Microsoft's cloud for almost three years now for Email. There have been a few outages during that time frame so I was not really that worried about this one. I also use Outlook.com for my personal email and I really like it. However I must report that the "outages" we have experienced with Microsoft's 365 service have been short and only effecting specific areas of their service. For example once or twice Outlook clients would not connect to the email service, however email continued to flow to mobile devices and Web Outlook. Another time Web Outlook was down, however once again mobile devices received email and the clients worked. Each of these occurrences lasted a few hours, much less then yesterday's Outlook.com outage.
What caused yesterday's outage? Microsoft has issued the following statement:
"At 13:35 PM PDT on August 13th, 2013 there was a service interruption that affected some people's access to a small part of the SkyDrive service, but primarily Hotmail.com and Outlook.com. Availability was restored over the course of the afternoon and evening, and fully restored by 5:43 AM PDT on August14th, 2013.
On the afternoon of the 12th, in one physical region of one of our datacenters, we performed our regular process of updating the firmware on a core part of our physical plant. This is an update that had been done successfully previously, but failed in this specific instance in an unexpected way. This failure resulted in a rapid and substantial temperature spike in the datacenter. This spike was significant enough before it was mitigated that it caused our safeguards to come in to place for a large number of servers in this part of the datacenter.
These safeguards prevented access to mailboxes housed on these servers and also prevented any other pieces of our infrastructure to automatically failover and allow continued access. This area of the datacenter houses parts of the Hotmail.com, Outlook.com, and SkyDrive infrastructure, and so some people trying to access those services were impacted.
Once the safeguards kicked in on these systems, the team was instantly alerted and they immediately began to get to work to restore access. Based on the failure scenario, there was a mix of infrastructure software and human intervention that was needed to bring the core infrastructure back online. Requiring this kind of human intervention is not the norm for our services and added significant time to the restoration.
From that point onward, the team brought back access in waves throughout the evening. The majority of the impacted mailboxes were fully restored before midnight and the rest completed by 5:30 AM."
We should accept and expect that as we rely on the "cloud" for more and more services service interruptions will occur from time to time. What you should however require from your provider are a couple of very important considerations:
1. When outages occur, communicate immediately with clear and concise information regarding the issue.
2. Work to get the service restored as quickly as possibly.
3. And most important of all, protect our data!
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Outlook.com Down
Microsoft has confirmed user reports that Microsoft's Outlook.com mail service, People contacts sync, and SkyDrive cloud storage service were unavailable for a period of time.
Since the initial outage occurred, SkyDrive and People have apparently returned to normal operation. Outlook.com is continuing to have unspecified issues. The company promised that it would provide an update on the status of its mail service, but the initial timeframe Microsoft gave for an update has come and gone, with nary a whisper from the software giant.
It's not clear how widespread the issues actually are at this point. Personally, I have been unable to connect to my Outlook.com email account and while trying to setup a PC for my son this evening I thought it was me when I could not get his Live.com (Outlook in all but name) to sync.
Since the initial outage occurred, SkyDrive and People have apparently returned to normal operation. Outlook.com is continuing to have unspecified issues. The company promised that it would provide an update on the status of its mail service, but the initial timeframe Microsoft gave for an update has come and gone, with nary a whisper from the software giant.
It's not clear how widespread the issues actually are at this point. Personally, I have been unable to connect to my Outlook.com email account and while trying to setup a PC for my son this evening I thought it was me when I could not get his Live.com (Outlook in all but name) to sync.
UPDATE - August 15, 6:00 AM
It looks like Outlook.com is finally back in service after an almost 24 hour outage. It will be interesting to see what happened here. Stay tuned.
UPDATE - August 15, 6:10 AM
Looks like MS has been able to restore access for most users, though some are still having issues. Here's a followup statement from the company, "Outlook.com experienced an incident that caused some users not to be able to access their account or share their SkyDrive files. We have restored web access for all users but some people might still see issues with their mobile devices. We are working to restore full mobile access as quickly as possible."
Hackers Gone Smishing
Many users are finally getting wise to the typical email hoaxes and probably as a result of this hackers are beginning to try a new angle to make our lives miserable. Text Message Spam
This SMS phishing - dubbed smishing, because everything needs a clever name - will often claim to be from banks, or cell network carriers.
The typical smartphone can access a lot of sensitive company & personal information. Here are some points to be aware of in order to stay safe:
1. Watch for numbers. These texts will often come from "5000" or other non-cellphone numbers.
2. Never Reply. Banks or cellphone companies have plenty of ways to get in touch with you. They will not text!
3. Report It. Forward suspicious messages to "7726" (SPAM). This lets carriers know to block the number.
Just like email do not respond to unsolicited messages, unless you can verify the validity of the messenger!
Improving Your PC Posture
It's not a shock to learn that many people who sit in front of their PC as part of their employment are frequently uncomfortable. Microsoft recently decided to conduct a survey of 10 US markets to find out more about this office workplace issue. The survey results show that 85 percent of them experience some kind of physical discomfort while working at their job. Issues with the neck are reported most at 39 percent, followed by the shoulders at 33 percent and the wrists at 28 percent.
It's no wonder that employees have such issues. The same survey shows that 70 percent of US workers use a desktop PC, and that they spend an average time of seven hours working at their desk. Despite this amount of discomfort, the survey shows that only 24 percent of US PC users have an ergonomic keyboard while only 29 percent own an ergonomic mouse.
Many workers like emergency services communication officers often work with several desktop computers for 12 hours at a time. Weeks, months and years of this type of activity can surely begin to cause physical health concerns if they are not addressed as soon as possible and on a regular basis.
Some suggestions to keep yourself in shape while working is to keep the PC monitor at arm's length on a desk, keep your wrists in a straight line with the forearm and having the top of the monitor leveled with your eyes.
You can learn more about Microsoft's survey here.
It's no wonder that employees have such issues. The same survey shows that 70 percent of US workers use a desktop PC, and that they spend an average time of seven hours working at their desk. Despite this amount of discomfort, the survey shows that only 24 percent of US PC users have an ergonomic keyboard while only 29 percent own an ergonomic mouse.
Many workers like emergency services communication officers often work with several desktop computers for 12 hours at a time. Weeks, months and years of this type of activity can surely begin to cause physical health concerns if they are not addressed as soon as possible and on a regular basis.
Some suggestions to keep yourself in shape while working is to keep the PC monitor at arm's length on a desk, keep your wrists in a straight line with the forearm and having the top of the monitor leveled with your eyes.
You can learn more about Microsoft's survey here.
The Growing Security Risks of Windows XP
All of this being said, what follows should also be considered for users still relying on XP.
Computerworld reports that hackers have started storing up any fresh Windows XP exploits they find and are preparing to unleash them on unsuspecting XP users as soon as Microsoft stops supporting the operating system next year. Microsoft security expert Jason Fossen tells Computerworld that hackers who discover new exploits over the next few months may be able to charge twice what they’re charging now if they sell them after Windows XP support ends.
This essentially leaves Windows XP users with two options: They can pay Microsoft a high premium to continue supporting XP at their business or they can upgrade to newer platforms such as Windows 7 or Windows 8. For home users there are no support option for XP as of April 8, 2014.
More than a third of all desktop computers still use Windows XP so this could potentially be a big problem for users who do not understand that they will have to make some kind of change by next spring.
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
UC-CERT: Alert (TA13-225A)
Microsoft Updates for Multiple Vulnerabilities
Systems Affected
- Windows Operating System and Components
- Microsoft Server Software
- Internet Explorer
Overview
Select Microsoft software products contain multiple vulnerabilities. Microsoft has released updates to address these vulnerabilities.
Description
The Microsoft Security Bulletin Summary for August 2013 describes multiple vulnerabilities in Microsoft software. Microsoft has released updates to address these vulnerabilities.
Impact
These vulnerabilities could allow remote code execution, elevation of privilege, denial of service, or information disclosure.
Solution
Apply Updates
Microsoft has provided updates for these vulnerabilities in the Microsoft Security Bulletin Summary for August 2013, which describes any known issues related to the updates. Administrators are encouraged to note these issues and test for any potentially adverse effects. In addition, administrators should consider using an automated update distribution system such as Windows Server Update Services (WSUS). Home users are encouraged to enable automatic updates.
Microsoft has provided updates for these vulnerabilities in the Microsoft Security Bulletin Summary for August 2013, which describes any known issues related to the updates. Administrators are encouraged to note these issues and test for any potentially adverse effects. In addition, administrators should consider using an automated update distribution system such as Windows Server Update Services (WSUS). Home users are encouraged to enable automatic updates.
References
Revisions
- August 13, 2013: Initial Release
Android's Security Thorns
Android vulnerabilities, increased online banking threats and availability of sophisticated, inexpensive malware toolkits are among the growing concerns cited in Trend Micro's Q2 2013 Security Roundup Report.
The report describes cyber-security threats from the previous quarter combined with analysis to evaluate and anticipate emerging attacks.
Android devices are directly in the crosshairs of hackers as threats become for frequent while the user-base expands with little thought given to security. The report shows the number of malicious and high-risk Android apps has grown to 718,000 in the second quarter – an incredible increase from the 509,000 high-risk apps found in the previous quarter.
These malicious apps are on track to exceed one million by year's end, as predicted by Trend Micro in the 2013 forecast. To demonstrate how big of a problem is be aware that it took a decade for PC malware to amass this number.
According to Linda Barrabee, Research Director, Connected Intelligence at The NPD Group, approximately only 30 percent of all Android smartphones and tablets in the U.S., have any type of security app installed today. This fact, Trend Micro warns, combined with the Android network's systemic problems leave a large number of Android devices exposed to a risk that will continue to spread.
Online banking
The Trend Micro report also warned of increasing hazards to online banking, which saw malware increasing 29 percent from the previous quarter – from 113,000 to 146,000 infections. The U.S. was the top target of malware, with more than one million instances amounting to 28 percent of global compromises.
Preventative measures, such as closely monitoring account activity and using third-party security solutions, will help mitigate this growing threat.
Malware toolkits
Adding to this onslaught of cyber-security risks, the Trend Micro report found that the methods for selling malware toolkits have evolved. Sophisticated malicious tools are now being sold via inexpensive, free or bundled pricing schemes, such as two-for-one packages.
Android's Future
Android must get a handle on their security issues to retain the confidence of the user market. This is easier said then done simply because of the open nature of their software. It will be interesting to watch this to see how the ongoing security threats to Android devices are managed and addressed. This is critical for Android because Apple, Windows and Blackberry are much less threatened by this issue.
Monday, August 12, 2013
The Incredible Shrinking iPhone
While it's commonly reported that Apple is the top smartphone manufacturer that does not really shine any light on how enormous or competitive the market really is.
Apple makes just 13.2 percent of the smartphones on the market - and that number is shrinking. Last quarter it was 16.6 percent. Samsung has a larger market share than Apple, and the rest of the market is largely carved up by other Android devices.
Google's Android OS has increased its global market share to 79.3 percent in the second quarter from 69.1 percent at the same time last year.
BlackBerry dropped to 2.9 percent from 4.9 percent in 2012. It has fallen behind Microsoft, which is now at number three in OS share. For the records the order is Android, Apple, Windows and Blackberry.
The reason Apple has been doing so well is that that its phones are so much more expensive than Android phones. Therefore there is a higher profit margin. Excluding subsidies from phone companies, the average iPhone cost $710 in 2012 - roughly $300 more than the average smartphone.That is a little outrageous if you ask me.
I believe that if the iPhone6 is not an "out of the park" product Windows Phones with their unique design and style will continue to eat into the smartphone market inviting more people to ironically, "think different" and move past Apple's old iPhone product.
Only time will tell, but don't give up on Windows Phone just yet. The Windows phone should really be given a chance. It is by far the most unique and best cross business / consumer phone on the market today.
Windows 8.1 Saves the Day?
Today reliable information was leaked throughout the tech world that the official release of Windows 8.1 was only days away. For us early adopters of Windows 8 this is a good news. Windows 8.1 Preview has been around for about 6 weeks or so and I have been using it on a couple of my computers. Although it addresses some issues like getting our start button back, well kind of sort of, I found the 8.1 Preview to be inconsistent between my various computers. I have one Acer laptop that simply refused to access my email through the Windows mail app once the upgrade was completed. The Acer struggled in various ways to such a degree that I restored it back to the original Windows 8. Meanwhile my Surface Pro had not problems with the 8.1 Preview and has been working quite nicely with it.
This is all to be expected from any "preview" version so much like the NFL Pre Season which is also upon us you can not get to concerned or upset when using these "public betas".
The changes in 8.1 are clearly designed to improve the discoverability of features in Windows 8.1 and address some of the loudest complaints, like the missing start button, very limited help features and work place usage.
Alongside the context menu changes, Microsoft also displays tips within the built-in apps that direct users to swipe and access the Charms. None of these changes were present in the Preview version of Windows 8.1, and Microsoft has also created a Help + Tips app that includes a variety of video tutorials for navigating the OS, accessing files, basic actions, and settings.
Oh and did I mention that there is a start up button and administrators can set Windows to boot straight to the desktop which are also both welcome additions.
The upgrade to 8.1 is free and will be available through the Windows 8 Store soon!
This is all to be expected from any "preview" version so much like the NFL Pre Season which is also upon us you can not get to concerned or upset when using these "public betas".
The changes in 8.1 are clearly designed to improve the discoverability of features in Windows 8.1 and address some of the loudest complaints, like the missing start button, very limited help features and work place usage.
Alongside the context menu changes, Microsoft also displays tips within the built-in apps that direct users to swipe and access the Charms. None of these changes were present in the Preview version of Windows 8.1, and Microsoft has also created a Help + Tips app that includes a variety of video tutorials for navigating the OS, accessing files, basic actions, and settings.
Oh and did I mention that there is a start up button and administrators can set Windows to boot straight to the desktop which are also both welcome additions.
The upgrade to 8.1 is free and will be available through the Windows 8 Store soon!
Microsoft 365 - Local Report from the Cloud
We here at the Borough of West Chester have been living in the cloud with Microsoft for email services for almost 3 years now. First we were on their older service, Microsoft Online and earlier this year we were moved to their new service, Microsoft 365. For us the move into Microsoft's cloud for email service was a "no brainer". With an IT staff of 1 and between 130-150 users to service, managing an on-premises Exchange (email) server was at times daunting and often time consuming.
One of the primary concerns for me, as well as others who have considered a change from "on premises" to "cloud" services for email specifically is uptime. I must admit that this was one of my primary concerns when I was looking to make this change almost 3 years ago. However by completing good research and interviews I was very comfortable with moving to cloud services for email. After all, it was my belief that an IT staff of 1 could never compete with the full power of Microsoft.
Now almost three years later I can look back on this decision and report that it was the right thing to do for us. Downtime has probably been less that 8 hours over these past 2+ years. Now don't get me wrong there have been hurdles from time to time with Microsoft. Some of the service issues we experienced since our move to the cloud have included:
1. Microsoft Lync continues to be problem from time to time. While it is presented by Microsoft as a easy to setup on the user end this is often not the case. I often find myself having to manually enter internal and external IP server information on many workstations during setup.
2. Microsoft Lync often has trouble connecting to our account on mobile devices, even on Windows phones!
3. When we transitioned from Microsoft Online Services to the new Microsoft 365 service, I found that many Outlook clients were not connecting. This occurred about a week prior to the scheduled upgrade. It was determined that Microsoft had changed their settings (MX records etc.) prior to actually upgrading our account! This caused Outlook clients not to connect for a few hours until we determined the actual cause which was corrected by myself and Microsoft.
4. Recently Outlook clients started to fail on connecting to Microsoft. It was determined through troubleshooting that for some reason Microsoft did not like the OpenDNS addresses we had been using on our DNS servers. The problem here is that Microsoft still has not acknowledged this as the root cause, but nevertheless by moving away from OpenDNS the connection problems were resolved. Why this actually occurred I am at a loss because we have always used OpenDNS addresses for our DNS servers.
There have been other minor issues, however overall uptime has been very good, in fact better then I could have provided managing our own internal Exchange servers.
According to an Office blog post, for the year from July 2012 to the end of June 2013, Office 365 had an uptime of 99.98%, 99.97%, 99.94% and 99.97% for each successive quarter respectively. For the sake of clarity, uptime is the amount of time that services provided by a vendor are actually available to users.
What is even better is that Microsoft promises to provide quarterly figures for uptime from here on in, which should offer current and potential users the confidence they need to sign-up, or stay signed-up if they are already customers.
Microsoft says it has calculated the uptime based on the number of minutes Office 365 was available over the course of a calendar month compared with the number of minutes in month.
Other things worth noting is that this figure was also calculated based on the number of people using any one of the given services like SharePoint, or Office Web Apps.
As these services come as a package, Microsoft said it lumped all the stats for each app and for each user together no matter what service they were using. The figures also include services for business, education users and government users.
The challenge with stats is that they can often be.... cloudy (pun intended). It should be noted that there have been times during the past 2+ years here that a part of the Microsoft service was down, while others have ben up. For example the most common outage has revolved out Outlook client connectivity. What usually happens here is that during the times we have experienced Outlook clients not connecting to the service, email continued to flow to mobile devices and the Web Outlook service. Therefore we were not completely down and I wonder if these partial service interruptions are included in Microsoft's statistics.
Cost savings are another factor to consider. For our organization, the cost savings was minimal. For us the cost of purchasing (every 3 years) then installing and maintaining the equipment and services is just about balanced out by the monthly service cost. There is also no question that cloud services will allow your organization to control or reduce staffing levels.
The cloud is here to stay, the only question is to find the right mix of "on premises" services and "cloud" services for your particular organization.
In August of 2011 Microsoft published a case study of the Borough of West Chester which can be found here.
Friday, August 9, 2013
Get To Know Your Internet Speed
Are you getting the internet speed at home you are paying for? When you sign up with an ISP (internet service provider) you actually pay a monthly fee for a specific internet speed. There are two specific speeds. One is download and the other is upload. For most consumers the one that is really important is the download speed. This (upload) is the service the you use for streaming video services. The lower the speed the weaker the video performance will be.
Knowing all of this the first thing you want to do is find out what internet speed you should be receiving. You can usually find this out by logging into your ISP account (Verizon, Comcast etc.) or simply calling and asking?
After you find what internet speeds you should be receiving Speedtest.net should be the very next website you visit in order to test your internet speed. The site is very easy to use and in seconds you will find out what internet speeds (upload and download) you are actually being provided.
If the speed is lower then what it should be try powering off and back on your router and run the speed test again. If this does not correct the problem contact your ISP. Let them know you are not getting the internet speed you are paying for after which they will probably correct it.
Also if you do stream video often you may want increase your internet speed once you find out what it is, and if you experience buffering issues when viewing online video services like Netflix.
Knowing all of this the first thing you want to do is find out what internet speed you should be receiving. You can usually find this out by logging into your ISP account (Verizon, Comcast etc.) or simply calling and asking?
After you find what internet speeds you should be receiving Speedtest.net should be the very next website you visit in order to test your internet speed. The site is very easy to use and in seconds you will find out what internet speeds (upload and download) you are actually being provided.
If the speed is lower then what it should be try powering off and back on your router and run the speed test again. If this does not correct the problem contact your ISP. Let them know you are not getting the internet speed you are paying for after which they will probably correct it.
Also if you do stream video often you may want increase your internet speed once you find out what it is, and if you experience buffering issues when viewing online video services like Netflix.
Thursday, August 8, 2013
The Case for Vinyl
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| My Growing LP Collection |
For example...
This weekend I am looking forward to attending the Keystone Record Collector's "Music Expo" where I will take my time browsing thousands of vinyl LPs looking for vintage awesome music. This music expo is now a monthly event for Keystone although my wife really only has the patience for attending it - about 5-6 times a year. Why is this event so popular? Why is vinyl still alive and actually growing in popularity? I have been asking myself these questions for about 3-4 years now since I have again begun collecting and listening to vinyl, as opposed to digital whenever possible.
Think about this. Just about every new form of technology has killed it's predecessor. First there was vinyl then there was 8-track then there was cassettes, followed by CDs and recently digital files. OK 8-track and cassettes are long buried in the heap of history and CD sales have been plummeting for years. Vinyl music was really first introduced in the 1940's and grew in popularity until the late 1980's early 1990's then CD's put a serious hurt on vinyl and almost killed the product. In fact vinyl was barely breathing until about 2006 when something amazing happened. Vinyl sales began to increase. This was unheard off with almost all previous leap frogged technologies.
There is some criticism of this vinyl reemergence as mere "revivalism". But I believe it is much more then that. You can see this in that almost all mainstream music today. Most artists are releasing their new material on "vinyl" 180 in addition to digital and CD. This was not happening in the late 1990's and early 2000's. Artists are now regularly releasing vinyl versions of their new material, along with digital downloads.
Don't get me wrong digital music is here to stay and I would have it no other way. I have over 100GB of digital music available at any time to stream at home and over 60Gb on my portable digital player.
However when I am home, and just want to relax and get my mind off the world, spinning some vinyl is simply a perfect experience. There is a flood of emotions when selecting and listening to music on vinyl. First you browse the collection, looking through the art work, reading the liner notes and finally choosing an entire album to put on.
What Should I Listen To?
There's nothing that comes close to the joy felt when you slip a record out of its inner sleeve, place it on a turntable, and drop a needle on its outermost ring. Being that the record plays for roughly fifteen to twenty minutes at a time, it makes sense to be nearby when it comes time to flip it over. There is a definite gratification in these simple obligatory tasks which only further require you to engage in your music. Awaiting that moment of infinite static which signifies the end of a given side, you have no choice but to listen to everything leading up (unless your attention span will have you drag the needle to the corresponding ring of the only song you actually like from the album, at which point it might have been more cost effective to just purchase that particular single). Another nice attribute: no visual component, nothing to distract, take away from, or come between great-sounding music and a spoiled pair of ears.
Also being analogue, vinyl doesn’t have to go through any conversion process. Vinyl simply has more depth and solidity then digital music, especially a pair of ear buds. There is some controversy here, but for me I have found this to be true and ear buds are usually stuck on my head when I am working outside so I truly have been comparing this for years.
With analog sound the listener is getting what the engineer intended while digital recordings are produced by changing the physical properties of the original sound into a sequence of numbers, which can then be stored and read back for reproduction. In practical terms, you’re getting a representation of the sound. This is not the case with vinyl.
Yes there is a nostalgia to some of this resurgence with vinyl for that I am certain. This is a positive experience for most people, otherwise they would not spend the time and money picking up a classic LP that they sold in a garage sale back in 1992!
Dilbert's Websense
This morning a co-worker walked into my office laughing to himself and handed me this Dilbert cartoon strip. He said it made him "think of me" and then he left my office, once again laughing quietly to himself.
I assume that my co-worker was thinking of me in comparison to the CIO as depicted here, not "Mordac".
I assume that my co-worker was thinking of me in comparison to the CIO as depicted here, not "Mordac".
Computer Services Available
I have been receiving many requests to repair personal computers and laptops these past couple of weeks. I gave this some thought and decided to make it easier for anyone who is experiencing technology problems to contact me & report a problem.
If you your computer is getting you down you can now simply complete a work order request and I will get back to you as soon as I can.
You can also find a link to the work order form on the top of the right panel of this fine blog.
If you your computer is getting you down you can now simply complete a work order request and I will get back to you as soon as I can.
You can also find a link to the work order form on the top of the right panel of this fine blog.
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| Help Is Only a Work Order Away. |
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Protect Your Email
Internet security takes many forms and can be rather overwhelming to the average computer user. I was reminded of this last week as I was asked to "repair" 4 infected computers.
The key is assessing risk and identifying which online activities pose the most significant threat. Anyone with an e-mail address is exposed to a variety of Internet security threats including malware, phishing, and spyware. E-mail scams have become increasingly complex and more difficult to spot.
There are a variety of simple e-mail security tips anyone can implement immediately with very little time or effort - so listen up.
All of these email internet security tips are easy to implement and will reduce the risk of data theft, malware, and viruses.
1. Use Multiple Accounts
The first way to make e-mail more secure is by using multiple accounts. Using multiple e-mails spreads the risk of data theft across multiple secure accounts. If an e-mail account is compromised, only a small portion of personal data is vulnerable when multiple accounts are used. One account should be closely guarded and only used for online financial transactions, such as banking and bill paying. By doing this, users know that any e-mails from outside sources can be ignored. Several other accounts can be created for social purposes, business, and newsletters.
2. Change Your Password Regularly
Regardless of how many e-mail accounts are used, every password should be changed regularly. Additionally, every e-mail account should have a different password. If a different password is used for each account and a single account becomes compromised, the remaining accounts will remain secure, limiting the damage.
3. Be On The Lookout For Phishing
The number one Internet security threat associated with e-mail is phishing. Malicious third parties send unsolicited e-mails in an attempt to gather information about the user. For example, this tax season has introduced a variety of new targeted phishing attacks. Third parties attempt to gather information by offering deals on tax filing services. When a user fills out their tax information, the third-party will then have all of the information they need to steal the user’s identity. It is even more dangerous now that many people have their refunds directly deposited into their bank account.
4. Scan Attachments
Viruses can be hidden in a variety of file types. In a well-designed attack the user doesn’t even need to download the attachment to be at risk.
The key is assessing risk and identifying which online activities pose the most significant threat. Anyone with an e-mail address is exposed to a variety of Internet security threats including malware, phishing, and spyware. E-mail scams have become increasingly complex and more difficult to spot.
There are a variety of simple e-mail security tips anyone can implement immediately with very little time or effort - so listen up.
All of these email internet security tips are easy to implement and will reduce the risk of data theft, malware, and viruses.
1. Use Multiple Accounts
The first way to make e-mail more secure is by using multiple accounts. Using multiple e-mails spreads the risk of data theft across multiple secure accounts. If an e-mail account is compromised, only a small portion of personal data is vulnerable when multiple accounts are used. One account should be closely guarded and only used for online financial transactions, such as banking and bill paying. By doing this, users know that any e-mails from outside sources can be ignored. Several other accounts can be created for social purposes, business, and newsletters.
2. Change Your Password Regularly
Regardless of how many e-mail accounts are used, every password should be changed regularly. Additionally, every e-mail account should have a different password. If a different password is used for each account and a single account becomes compromised, the remaining accounts will remain secure, limiting the damage.
3. Be On The Lookout For Phishing
The number one Internet security threat associated with e-mail is phishing. Malicious third parties send unsolicited e-mails in an attempt to gather information about the user. For example, this tax season has introduced a variety of new targeted phishing attacks. Third parties attempt to gather information by offering deals on tax filing services. When a user fills out their tax information, the third-party will then have all of the information they need to steal the user’s identity. It is even more dangerous now that many people have their refunds directly deposited into their bank account.
4. Scan Attachments
Viruses can be hidden in a variety of file types. In a well-designed attack the user doesn’t even need to download the attachment to be at risk.
Microsoft Reduces Cost of Surface Pro
Microsoft is continuing to work hard to edge into the "tablet" market. This is obvious because their Surface Pro was just lowered by $100.
First things first, as much as I recommend the Surface Pro I believe the Surface RT was a mistake and should be discontinued, with Microsoft's continued emphasis placed on the Pro version.
I have been using the Surface Pro for about 6 months now and it has turned into by "go to" device for getting things done "on the go", or at home in my "easy chair". As opposed to Apple's iPad, which is also an excellent device the Surface pro was built for getting real work done while the iPad is more geared towards the consumer's more general needs such as email, internet browsing, social media and gaming. While the Surface pro can do most of these tasks fairly well where it truly shines is helping the user the get work done. this is because the Surface Pro runs a full version of Windows 8. Any Windows application can be run on the tablet and in addition to Microsoft Office you can see how fun & work can get done, all on the same, very mobile device.
Microsoft is hoping to see a boost in sales from the back-to-school shopping frenzy that's about to get underway. Unlike everyone else, however, Microsoft is sitting on a mountain of unsold Surface RT and Surface Pro tablets, which to this point have only generated $853 million in revenue. This sort of revenue would be excellent for just about everybody else, but this is Microsoft we are talking about. This led to Microsoft taking a $900 million charge on unsold inventory followed by a round of price cuts, first with Surface RT and now with Surface Pro.
Microsoft just slashed $100 off the price of Surface Pro, which now starts at $799 instead of $899. Surface Pro features an Intel x86 Core i5 processor and the full version of Windows 8, though it remains to be seen if a C-note reduction will be enough to convince PC shoppers to hop on board.
The price cut follows a $150 reduction to Surface RT just a few weeks ago. Unlike Surface Pro, the ARM-based Surface RT comes with Office Home and Student 2013 RT for free, giving users some additional value along with a lower cost of entry. On the flip side, Surface RT is also limited by a slimmer version of Windows 8 that's unable to run legacy x86 applications.
Youy can read by March 28, 2013 review of the Surface Pro here.
First things first, as much as I recommend the Surface Pro I believe the Surface RT was a mistake and should be discontinued, with Microsoft's continued emphasis placed on the Pro version.
Microsoft is hoping to see a boost in sales from the back-to-school shopping frenzy that's about to get underway. Unlike everyone else, however, Microsoft is sitting on a mountain of unsold Surface RT and Surface Pro tablets, which to this point have only generated $853 million in revenue. This sort of revenue would be excellent for just about everybody else, but this is Microsoft we are talking about. This led to Microsoft taking a $900 million charge on unsold inventory followed by a round of price cuts, first with Surface RT and now with Surface Pro.
Microsoft just slashed $100 off the price of Surface Pro, which now starts at $799 instead of $899. Surface Pro features an Intel x86 Core i5 processor and the full version of Windows 8, though it remains to be seen if a C-note reduction will be enough to convince PC shoppers to hop on board.
The price cut follows a $150 reduction to Surface RT just a few weeks ago. Unlike Surface Pro, the ARM-based Surface RT comes with Office Home and Student 2013 RT for free, giving users some additional value along with a lower cost of entry. On the flip side, Surface RT is also limited by a slimmer version of Windows 8 that's unable to run legacy x86 applications.
Youy can read by March 28, 2013 review of the Surface Pro here.
Monday, August 5, 2013
Watch Out For That Fake Expedia Email
It looks like cybercriminals have found an efficient new way to trick you into downloading their malware. These cybercriminals are now also using fake email pretending to be from the travel booking website Expedia.com.
This new phishing scam tries to get people to install malware onto their computers by hiding it in an email that claims to contain an itinerary for a recently booked travel plan.
The email does a pretty good job of looking legitimate, even using the Expedia logo and color scheme. However, the email address does not use Expedia's official site, which is expedia.com.au.
The file attached to the email is a .zip, a type of archive file that bundles together several smaller files. If users download that file and "unzip" it to view its contents, they'll see a file that looks like a PDF, that is, like it has the file extension .pdf. But the ".pdf" is just part of the file's name — with the actual extension, it looks something like itinerary.pdf.exe.
This is a fairly old and insidiously simple trick; because periods are allowed in file names, it's easy to name a file so that it looks at first glance like it has a different file extension. Executable files are programs that run on your computer, and most malware programs come as .exe files.
Once downloaded, the malicious program that was attached to the fake Expedia email searches for and gathers confidential information stored on the infected computer; the malware then connects that computer to a remote server operated by the cybercriminals.
This type of server, called a "command-and-control server," can then send commands to the infected computer via the malware program, and even install more malware onto the machine.
In using Expedia as the hook to get people to read the email and download the malware, the criminals aren't just targeting travelers. If you saw an Expedia email, but you hadn't booked a flight, you might think someone had stolen your credit card data, and you might click on the email to try to figure out what was happening.
Malware scams disguised as itineraries are fairly common, and similar attempts have circulated in recent years, with hackers masquerading as companies like Jetstar, Delta Airlines, American Airlines and more.
You can learn more about this new malware threat at Expedia's website.
This new phishing scam tries to get people to install malware onto their computers by hiding it in an email that claims to contain an itinerary for a recently booked travel plan.
The email does a pretty good job of looking legitimate, even using the Expedia logo and color scheme. However, the email address does not use Expedia's official site, which is expedia.com.au.
The file attached to the email is a .zip, a type of archive file that bundles together several smaller files. If users download that file and "unzip" it to view its contents, they'll see a file that looks like a PDF, that is, like it has the file extension .pdf. But the ".pdf" is just part of the file's name — with the actual extension, it looks something like itinerary.pdf.exe.
This is a fairly old and insidiously simple trick; because periods are allowed in file names, it's easy to name a file so that it looks at first glance like it has a different file extension. Executable files are programs that run on your computer, and most malware programs come as .exe files.
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| Actual "Expedia" Malware Email |
Once downloaded, the malicious program that was attached to the fake Expedia email searches for and gathers confidential information stored on the infected computer; the malware then connects that computer to a remote server operated by the cybercriminals.
This type of server, called a "command-and-control server," can then send commands to the infected computer via the malware program, and even install more malware onto the machine.
In using Expedia as the hook to get people to read the email and download the malware, the criminals aren't just targeting travelers. If you saw an Expedia email, but you hadn't booked a flight, you might think someone had stolen your credit card data, and you might click on the email to try to figure out what was happening.
Malware scams disguised as itineraries are fairly common, and similar attempts have circulated in recent years, with hackers masquerading as companies like Jetstar, Delta Airlines, American Airlines and more.
You can learn more about this new malware threat at Expedia's website.
Friday, August 2, 2013
Taming Your Email
It's a rare computer user who isn't constantly battling email overload. Does that describe you -- or someone you know? Never fear. You're not alone, and there are steps you can take to tame the electronic avalanche and regain control of your computing life.
Step 1: Shut down your in-box.
Step 2: Unsubscribe -- again and again. Turning it all into a game can't hurt, either.
Email has been around since before the Internet, but while the technology itself hasn't changed much since the 1970s, the volume of it has. Some people, in fact, receive hundreds of messages a day. That's a threat to a human's ability to process information.
Step 1
Shut down your in-box if you find emails are distracting you from productive work. You can still be alerted to important messages through an SMS text message.
Set up a "from-based" filter within your email client, such as Gmail, to forward important emails to your phone's text account. That way, you'll see the initial 140 characters on the phone as the message comes in and know that you need to open your email client to address the email. Yet you won't get distracted routinely by less important email.
Step 2
Hit the Unsubscribe link embedded in legitimate mass emails and then delete the email without reading it. Gradually your daily volume will decrease -- some of those lists are bombarding you frequently.
Step 3
Use a burner email address.
Unfortunately, marketers looking for prospects to harass have wised-up to the use of completely fabricated email addresses when signing up for services, and won't let you register for services without a legitimate email.
Burner email addresses are disposable addresses that let you sign up for services and click on the verify link in the sent email; the addresses then vaporize after a predetermined period, like an hour. Guerrillamail.com is one such Web-based solution.
Step 4
Look for newsletter marketing preferences options whenever you give out your email in a Web-based form and uncheck the boxes.
Step 5
Take advantage of triaging tricks offered by email services.
Clients like Outlook let you set up hierarchical folders. Add project folders with action and archive subfolders, then drag-and-drop from the in-box as emails come in, for example. Then deal with the email on a project-by-project basis rather than a hit-and-miss chronological one.
Alternatively, use filters to send messages to the project folder, then address the email content as you work on that particular project.
Look for category options within email clients and take advantage of them. Gmail's newest client on some Android 4.0+, iPhone and iPad devices, for example, lets you categorize by people you actually know. Look for the new Primary tab there.
Step 6
Try some email management software.
Boomerang, a plugin for Gmail, lets you set up reminders if no one replies to your message, so you don't have to retain tickle items in your in-box.
ActiveInBox, a Gmail extension for Chrome or Firefox, creates professional status and prioritization project management-like elements within Gmail.
Step 7
Turn the whole process into one big game with The Email Game. This Gmail- and Google Apps-compatible game gives you a score. The faster you clear your in-box, the more points you get.
Thursday, August 1, 2013
Local Press Covers WC Connect
The following article appeared in the "Daily Local News" on August 2, 2013.
WEST CHESTER – Borough officials are making it clear they want residents to submit their problems to them, and if residents don’t know how to do it they are willing to show them.
Titled “West Chester Connect,” the app allows anyone to easily and quickly report any environmental, quality-of-life or public safety concern directly to the appropriate borough staff.
WEST CHESTER – Borough officials are making it clear they want residents to submit their problems to them, and if residents don’t know how to do it they are willing to show them.
As a response to the new citizen engagement smartphone app available to residents, officials announced a free training session on the use of the app to any community member who wants to learn more about the service.
The free training seminar is set for Aug. 28 at 6:30 p.m. in the municipal building located at 401 East Gay Street.
The app had a soft launch in late June and officially went live July 8.
Titled “West Chester Connect,” the app allows anyone to easily and quickly report any environmental, quality-of-life or public safety concern directly to the appropriate borough staff.
The reports can include photographs and exact GPS information; officials said this will help staff make decisions quicker and more efficiently than they could in the past.
According to the Bill Mann, the borough’s chief information officer, the idea for the app came after Councilman Chuck Christy attended a conference and passed the information onto Mann.
From there Mann investigated the various platforms the borough could use eventually settling with City Sourced. In a partnership, City Sourced and Mann designed the app.
“As soon as I saw (City Sourced) I knew we needed to do something like that to make it easier for the community to reach out,” Mann said.
Mann added the cost to the borough, at $3,000, was within his IT budget.
“It was a no-brainer for the cost,” Mann said.
Since the release, Mann said the app has shown its value and has helped the borough complete tasks more efficiently.
In the monthly report Mann submits to Borough Council, a total of 31 work orders were recorded since the app’s release on July 8. Mann said of the work orders, about 70 percent have been citizen generated.
“I think with that usage for that period of time is good and hopefully it grows and grows,” Mann said.
As an element of the app, push notifications, are delivered to the reporting individual’s compatible device to keep them up to date and engaged as the work order is processed.
Most important to officials is that the app provides accountability as unfilled orders will be clearly visible to app users.
Borough officials said in a statement the borough is committed “to using technology when possible to make engagement and involvement between the members of our community and our government officials as productive as possible.”
The app is free and available in the Apple, Android, Windows Phone and Blackberry stores. Those looking for it can search for “West Chester” or “West Chester Connect” to download the app.
Residents can also register at www.citysourced.com and report incidents from their home computer.
This will provide another way to keep up on all of the work orders created by citizens.
This will provide another way to keep up on all of the work orders created by citizens.
Mann said what drew him to the app was its ability to work across platforms and to work with different types of smartphones.
“It’s another way to publicize it,” Mann said. “We all have different levels of expertise on these things. I figured it would get the word out more and give some hands-on experience.”
If the training session goes well, Mann said he is willing to host a few each year.
Community members who wish to sign up or have questions about the training are asked to contact the chief information officer, William Mann at wmann@west-chester.com.
Follow Daily Local News staff writer Jeremy Gerrard on Twitter @JeremyGerrard.
Office Invades Android
Microsoft has launched the official Office Mobile for 365 app on Android as promised. Similar to the iOS version, users will need an Office 365 subscription to be able to use it for both viewing and editing of documents.
Any offline edits you make are synced to the cloud, and a list of recently-updated documents syncs with the desktop version of Office 365. There’s also a sharing and commenting system, and access to SkyDrive and Sharepoint, with word documents downloaded from SkyDrive resuming from where you left off previously on mobile, PC, or tablet.
Speaking of tablets, Office Mobile does not have a tablet version, which was a glaring omission on iOS as well. This is presumably to keep the app exclusive to Windows 8 and Windows RT tablets.
So, is the much-anticipated arrival worth the admission price for actually using Office Mobile on Android? If you’re already an Office 365 subscriber, then it’s a no-brainer.
In order to use it, you’ll have to be an Office 365 subscriber, with plans starting at $60 a year for a single user.
Like every other Microsoft app, Office for Android has a beautiful UI, and the necessary changes have been made to adapt it to the Holo interface of the OS while keeping a consistent look across all platforms. It has considerably more editing options than Google’s Drive app, and you can view all Office documents and create and edit Word, Excel, and Powerpoint files.
Any offline edits you make are synced to the cloud, and a list of recently-updated documents syncs with the desktop version of Office 365. There’s also a sharing and commenting system, and access to SkyDrive and Sharepoint, with word documents downloaded from SkyDrive resuming from where you left off previously on mobile, PC, or tablet.
Speaking of tablets, Office Mobile does not have a tablet version, which was a glaring omission on iOS as well. This is presumably to keep the app exclusive to Windows 8 and Windows RT tablets.
So, is the much-anticipated arrival worth the admission price for actually using Office Mobile on Android? If you’re already an Office 365 subscriber, then it’s a no-brainer.
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