Computerworld

The 10 best new Microsoft Teams meeting features

Thu, 20 Jan 2022 15:06:50 -0500

Over the past year or so, Microsoft has added a host of new capabilities to Teams, its chat and videoconferencing hub, focused on improving video meetings with co-workers and other colleagues. Here's a rundown of the key new features to know and how to use them. Note that this guide refers to...

Word 2016 and 2019 cheat sheet

preston@gralla.com — Fri, 30 Aug 2019 00:00:00 -0400

Word has always been the workhorse app of the Microsoft Office suite. Nearly everyone who uses Office ends up using Word at some point, whether it be for...

Best Places to Work in IT 2019

Fri, 21 Jun 2019 03:00:00 -0400

Ever upward. Those are the words that come to mind when we look over the 2019 list of the 100 Best Places to Work in IT and think about the listings of past years.

At this point...

Microsoft surrenders in its Windows Update war with users

preston@gralla.com — Fri, 10 May 2019 03:00:00 -0400

Most businesses know that a war with the people who buy and use their products is a war they can’t win. Microsoft has belatedly recognized this with regard to its Windows Update policies. And...

Slack adds email, calendar and file integrations for Office 365

matthew_finnegan@idg.co.uk — Fri, 12 Apr 2019 01:00:00 -0400

Slack has added new ways to interact with Microsoft’s Office 365 app directly from its own collaboration platform. This includes an Outlook calendar app, Office file previews and the ability to export emails into Slack channels and direct messages.

The integrations announced Tuesday are part of...

How blockchain is becoming the 5G of the payment industry

lmearian@computerworld.com — Fri, 29 Mar 2019 00:00:00 -0400

As more blockchain-based payment networks and fiat-backed digital currencies – including one from the largest U.S. bank – emerge, experts and analysts are predicting a sea change for the financial services industry.

"I think you're starting to see a growing consensus," said Matt Savare, a partner who...

Windows 10 Redstone: A guide to the Insider Preview builds

preston@gralla.com — Fri, 15 Mar 2019 04:00:00 -0400

Microsoft never sleeps. Even before the Windows 10 October 2018 Update (version 1809) started to roll out, the company began work on the next major update to Windows 10, due to be released next spring. As it did with the October 2018 Update, Microsoft has been releasing a series of public preview builds to members of Microsoft's Windows Insider Program.

After years of...

Microsoft aims HoloLens 2 at the enterprise

matthew_finnegan@idg.co.uk — Fri, 01 Mar 2019 00:00:00 -0500

Microsoft this week unveiled a slimmed-down, more powerful and easier-to-use HoloLens headset as it aims to boost uptake of its “mixed reality” technology by businesses.

The HoloLens 2 was...

Don’t waste your money on Office 2019 (says Microsoft)

Fri, 15 Feb 2019 04:00:00 -0500

We’ve all had a chuckle at the expense of Microsoft Office, with the ’90s debuts of Bob and Clippy being particularly hilarious (at least in hindsight). But now it is Microsoft itself that is making fun of Office 2019, the latest version of its iconic office suite. Although Office 2019 was just released this past September, Microsoft is urging you to replace it — and your older versions of Office — with Office 365.

And...

Gmail Encryption: Everything You Need To Know

Tue, 27 Nov 2018 08:00:00 -0500

Encryption may sound like a subject best left to hackers and tinfoil hat wearers, but don't be fooled: It's a critical part of contemporary life and something that's important for everyone, especially business users, to understand. And one of the places where encryption is most relevant and misunderstood is in the realm of email. If you're using Gmail for electronic communication...

Microsoft Cheat Sheets: Dive Into Windows And Office Apps

Mon, 12 Nov 2018 06:00:00 -0500

Need to get up to speed on the latest features in Excel 2016? Wrestling with an old version of Word? Looking to get more out of Windows 10? Computerworld's cheat sheets are easy-to-use guides to help you navigate Microsoft's core productivity apps. Here's a one-stop resource where you can find...

Microsoft Hikes Office 2019 Retail Prices By Up To 10%

Tue, 30 Oct 2018 12:00:00 -0400

Microsoft raised prices for the retail versions of Office 2019 by as much as 10% when it began selling the application suite earlier this month. The price increases were similar to those announced in July for commercial licenses sold in volume. Then...

Walmart, Sam's Club Tell Suppliers To Get On Blockchain Network

Fri, 28 Sep 2018 12:46:00 -0400

Walmart and Sam's Club are calling on suppliers of leafy green vegetables to upload their produce data to a corporate blockchain ledger within a year to enable end-to-end traceability of vegetables back to the farm where they were grown. "This has literally gone out to dozens and dozens of suppliers. If you think about this food system...

10 Classic But Essential ... Utilities For Windows 10

Fri, 31 Aug 2018 12:31:02 -0400

Let's talk about Windows 10 utilities. Sound dull? Far from it. Many of these programs have been around through several versions of Windows. They've become popular by providing features not included with the OS, doing something better than a built-in tool or optimizing overall performance...

How To Protect Your Privacy In Windows 10

preston@gralla.com — Fri, 17 Aug 2018 09:18:00 -0400

There has been some concern that Windows 10 gathers too much private information from users. Whether you think Microsoft's operating system crosses the privacy line or just want to make sure you protect as much of your personal life as possible, we're here to help. Here's how to protect your privacy in just a few minutes...

Google Touts G Suite Momentum In Office Productivity Battle

Fri, 27 Jul 2018 13:17:05 -0400

Google may not usurp Microsoft's office productivity dominance anytime soon, but the raft of updates to its G Suite portfolio rolled out at its Cloud Next event this week aim to build momentum as it woos business users with artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud capabilities...

Here Come The First Blockchain Smartphones: What You Need To Know

Fri, 13 Jul 2018 11:53:56 -0400

After months of speculation, Taiwanese electronics company HTC Corp. will release a blockchain-enabled smartphone this year that will allow users to securely store cryptocurrency offline and act as a compute node in a blockchain network. "We want to double and triple the number of nodes of Ethereum and Bitcoin," HTC said in...

Best Places To Work In IT 2018

Mon, 02 Jul 2018 05:37:51 -0400

What makes an organization a good place for technology professionals to work? For the 25th year in a row, Computerworld has surveyed large, midsize and small organizations across the U.S. to find out which ones are the Best Places to Work in IT. Along the way...

Microsoft Walks Away From Windows 7, Office 2013 Support Forums

Fri, 15 Jun 2018 11:37:21 -0400

Microsoft has quietly told customers that it will stop participating in the online support forums devoted to consumer questions about Windows 7 and a host of other products. The announcement, which Microsoft posted over the weekend to several of the affected support forums, said the change would take place next month...

Don't Believe The Hype: We're A Long Way From 5G

Thu, 31 May 2018 10:20:58 -0400

I wish 5G, with its 490 Mbit/sec. speeds and download latency times of 17 milliseconds, was just around the corner. It's not. I know, I know. AT&T Mobility, Verizon Wireless, and the pairing of T-Mobile and Sprint are all promising 5G real soon now. They're... fibbing. There are a host of...

Microsoft Cites 24% Jump In Tech Support Scams

Fri, 27 Apr 2018 04:57:46 -0400

Reports of tech support scams jumped by 24% last year, Microsoft said, with losses by the bilked averaging between $200 and $400 each. "Scammers continue to capitalize on the proven effectiveness of social engineering to perpetrate tech support scams," Erik Wahlstrom, Windows Defender research project manager, wrote...

USB-C Explained: How To Get The Most From It (And Why It's Great)

Mon, 02 Apr 2018 06:59:25 -0400

You've probably noticed something strange about the latest phones, tablets and laptops at your company: The familiar rectangular Type-A USB ports are gone, replaced by smaller oblong connectors. Welcome to the USB-C era of business computing. While iPhones and iPads stick with Apple's proprietary Lightning connector...

28 Ways Google Assistant Can Make You More Efficient

Mon, 19 Feb 2018 07:45:26 -0500

Google Assistant is artificial intelligence at your fingertips - but sometimes, it can be tough to know what to ask an omniscient robot to do. I'm here to help. I've talked to my phone more than I'd care to admit (even before it did anything in response - boy, were those awkward times), and...

Windows 10 Cheat Sheet

Mon, 19 Feb 2018 07:42:00 -0500

Windows 10 is the best operating system that's come along from Microsoft in a long time. It's a shape-shifter that changes its interface depending upon whether you're using a traditional computer or a touch-based one. It undoes the damage wrought by Windows 8, including...

Top Web Browsers 2018: Microsoft's IE And Edge Shed Share As Chrome Gains

Mon, 05 Feb 2018 10:26:21 -0500

Browsers built by Microsoft and Mozilla jettisoned some of their precious user share in January, while Google's broke out of a months-long malaise by grabbing what its rivals lost, and then some. According to California-based analytics vendor Net Applications...

Why Amazon Is The New Microsoft

Mon, 22 Jan 2018 04:55:18 -0500

A few years ago, chatbots were supposed to take over as a leading way to interact with the internet. They would live on our phones and in our messaging apps. Whenever we needed anything, all we had to do was type out a question. Things are turning out... differently. Chatbots, bots, virtual assistants and agents are all...

Better Charts. Smarter Lookups. Your Excel Spreadsheets Made Better.

Mon, 18 Dec 2017 06:14:58 -0500

Are you the nerd at the holiday party sequestered at the kitchen table, surrounded by empties, trading tips with the other spreadsheet junkie in town? You grouse over VLOOKUP, high five each other's complex formula strings, and bemoan chart failures that made you scream. But this is the most fun you've had since you got your Ham Radio License...

10 Ways We'll Move Beyond The Keyboard

Mon, 20 Nov 2017 08:58:12 -0500

Speech recognition, gesture control and brain-computer interface systems are changing how we talk to our machines. Oh, and don't forget about those digital tattoos...

Windows 10 Insider: What's In It For Us?

Mon, 06 Nov 2017 10:04:12 -0500

Microsoft's motivation for pushing customers to run Windows 10 previews is obvious: It gains a huge pool of testers and millions of amateur quality control workers who help shake out software bugs before the code reaches the wild. But is there anything in it for the customer? "Absolutely," said Wes Miller, an analyst with Directions on Microsoft, in a recent interview when asked whether customers benefit from participating in the Insider program. "You're testing the quality of those bits vis-a-vis your infrastructure." Windows Insider, which Microsoft launched in...

iOS 11 Uptake Leaves iOS 10 - And Android 8 - In The Dust

Mon, 23 Oct 2017 10:49:32 -0400

Apple released iOS 11 on Sept. 19 and within a week the latest version of iOS was already powering 30.21% iDevices. That's still left it far behind the 63.47% running iOS 10. But...