In this Quick Tip, we explain the basics of using this powerful software tool.

Feedback? Fill out our short survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/EndsightQTOneNote

Transcript:

Have you ever made notes in Word, Excel, Outlook, or Notepad, and categorized them in folders, inside other folders … and then found it difficult to keep track of everything especially when trying to retrieve specific pieces of information? For note taking, there is a better way. It’s called OneNote. With simple organization, search capabilities, very intuitive text formatting, ability to copy emails, articles, pictures, screen captures, and more. OneNote is arguably one of the most powerful note-taking softwares.

So how does it work?

Let’s start by opening OneNote. If you are using OneNote 2010, you may see this page from the OneNote 2010 Guide. In fact, I’m going to use this graphic to explain that. OneNote mimics real notebooks in the way it’s organized. It’s broken down like this: You have your notebooks. Inside your notebooks are your sections. Inside your sections are your Pages. On your pages are your notes. Also just like real notebooks - there is no save button - everything is saved automatically all the time.

Let’s go through the steps together of creating a notebook, sections, pages, and notes.

First go to File, New. For this example, let’s store it on the local computer. Give it a name and a folder location. Now that we have our notebook let’s create a few sections. Double click this New Section 1 tab to rename this section. And this tab right next to it creates new sections. Sections will automatically start with a blank page which includes today’s date and time, both of which can be changed. And we title it here. Click this New Page button here to add pages.

Writing notes is easy. Anywhere you place your cursor on the page you can write a note. And if you go to the Home tab you get the familiar formatting options from other Microsoft applications. When you copy text from the web a webpage link is included below your note. You can also drag and drop any file from your computer onto your OneNote page and create a link to the original file, create a copy of the original which is actually housed in your OneNote section file, or if it’s a printable document you can insert a printed copy. Other items may respond differently, for example dragging in a folder creates a link to that folder and dragging in picture files or pictures from the internet recreates them.

Now that we know how to create Notebooks, Sections, Pages, and Notes, get started on your own notebook. And don’t worry about not being able to find a note because this search bar allows you to search any word or phrase within all of your notebooks, so you can easily retrieve information.

And that’s it. Whether you take notes for professional or personal use, now you know the basics of OneNote and should have enough to start using this powerful note taking tool.

Feedback? Take our short survey: www.surveymonkey.com/s/endsightqttrackchanges

Transcript:

Have you ever wanted your colleagues to review a Microsoft Word document, but were unsure how to keep track of the changes that your reviewers have made to the document? The “Track Changes” feature in Word is a simple way to identify these changes. It allows a document to be edited collaboratively, with changes made by one reviewer visible to all subsequent reviewers.

You’ll find track changes in the Review tab.

I suggest making sure you have an appropriate user name for your colleagues to see when you are making tracked changes as well as adding notes to the document. Go to the track changes pulldown and select Change User Name.

Now you are ready to start track changes. Click on the pull down and select Track Changes. By default when you edit this document Microsoft word will strike through deletions and underline added text.

Let’s say we made our edits to the document and sent it to the next reviewer.They would find the original edits in one color and their own edits in another. This will continue to change from reviewer to reviewer to reviewer. That’s basically what the “red and blue by author section” means in the “track changes options.” Simply that the tracked changes color will alternate from reviewer to reviewer. This is usually the default.

The reviewing pane is a great way to see every change that has been made to the document and identify which reviewers made those changes. It can be viewed vertically on the side or horizontally.You can also see who made edits and when they were made by simply hovering over the edited text.

If you want to see what the original document looked like before any changes were made, click on the pulldown and select “Original”. If you want to see what the final document will look like if all of the changes are incorporated, click on the pulldown and select “Final”. Individual changes to the document can be confirmed by choosing “Accept and Move to Next” or “Reject and Move to Next”, or simply right-clicking on an edited item and making your selection.

Now you know how to use the “Track Changes” feature in Microsoft Word.

In spite of the tough economic conditions, Endsight has consistently grown adding new clients and new employees.  This has allowed us to really refine our existing outsourced IT services  and provided the resources to add additional services including:

Managed SPAM Filtering:  That provides comprehensive protection against the most current e-mail borne threats that can cripple a computer network if left unprotected. Endsight’s Managed SPAM filtering optimizes performance on the e-mail server and provides a 12 layer defense against unwanted, unsolicited junk mail.

Managed Anti-virus: That provides an essential security protection component by incorporating reactive anti-virus spyware detection with the latest proactive technologies. Endsight’s Managed Anti-virus protection takes the place of existing anti-virus software and includes effective protection against malicious programs ensuring not only anti-virus protection but protection from unknown threats.

Managed Backup: That guards against two distinct disaster scenarios: catastrophic disaster (fire, theft, quake or flood) and localized failure (hardware failure, data corruption or human error). Completely automated, managed backup eliminates the "human factor" risks of reviewing backup software logs and changing, storing and transporting backup tapes.

For fast rebuilds in the event of a system crash, Endsight’s Managed Backup includes a locally installed storage device that provides a "tape less" backup of all server data as well as pre-configured images of all server software and system settings. In the event of a catastrophe, Endsight’s Managed Backup replicates a copy of the server data off-site assuring that a copy of the data lives beyond the reach of a disaster such as a fire and flood.

Data Center Hosting: That provides the capability to off load the cost and complexity of locating physical servers on-site. Instead servers reside in a highly secure, fault tolerant virtual environment with redundant everything including:

1. redundant server architecture
2. flexible redundant data storage
3. high availability firewalls and switching fabric
4. redundant fiber optic Internet connections
5. redundant utility and emergency power generators

Additionally, Endsight’s hosted environment includes:

1. 24 x 7 monitoring and protection against viruses, spyware and hacking
2. proactive maintenance and support for all core network services and functions
3. 24 x 7 physical security that includes video surveillance and key card access only to the data center
4. fire suppression, earthquake and flood countermeasures

Hardware as a Service (HaaS):  That reduces the hefty upfront costs of hardware and software replacing it with a predictable monthly fee. Endsight’s Haas Program includes the hardware, Microsoft software, the professional services to deploy the new laptop or workstation, and will manage the systems replacement in the event of failure. Laptops are replaced every three years and workstations are replaced every four years.

Quick Tips Videos:  Are 2 to 3 min. video tutorials on topics ranging from creating signatures in Microsoft Outlook to a quick overview of Microsoft OneNote. Quick tips are intended to be a fast, easy, self-serve library of tips and tricks that can help clients get more work done in less time or provide answers to a client’s "how to" question. We post a new quick trip every two weeks to the Endsight Facebook page. www.facebook.com/endsightIT

Everyone appreciates recognition and we are grateful to be named to the MSP top 100 list. We know that our success depends entirely on the quality of our relationships with our clients and our partners. We are grateful for your support and we look forward to working together for a long time to come!

I’ve been thinking about Apple Computer and Steve Jobs a lot lately, seems like everywhere you turn there’s an Apple logo in staring back at you.  There are billboards, iPads/Pods, TV and has anyone seen a movie in the last 4 years without an apple product placement?!  Apple body art is not even out of place these days, I saw a huge Apple logo tattoo just the other day waiting in line at the local BBQ joint.  Anyway, I recently read Steve Jobs’ biography by Walter Isaacson and it really blew me away. 

This all lead me to a great Harvard Business Review article Isaacson wrote on The Real Leadership Lessons of Steve Jobs. 

In this article Isaacson discusses how Jobs strove to combine the humanities with the sciences:

“I always thought of myself as a humanities person as a kid, but I liked electronics,” Jobs told me on the day he decided to cooperate on a biography. “Then I read something that one of my heroes, Edwin Land of Polaroid, said about the importance of people who could stand at the intersection of humanities and sciences, and I decided that’s what I wanted to do.” It was as if he was describing the theme of his life, and the more I studied him, the more I realized that this was, indeed, the essence of his tale.

He connected the humanities to the sciences, creativity to technology, arts to engineering. There were greater technologists (Wozniak, Gates), and certainly better designers and artists. But no one else in our era could better firewire together poetry and processors in a way that jolted innovation. And he did it with an intuitive feel for business strategy. At almost every product launch over the past decade, Jobs ended with a slide that showed a sign at the intersection of Liberal Arts and Technology Streets.

The creativity that can occur when a feel for both the humanities and the sciences exists in one strong personality was what most interested me in my biographies of Franklin and Einstein, and I believe that it will be a key to building innovative economies in the 21st century. It is the essence of applied imagination, and it’s why both the humanities and the sciences are critical for any society that is to have a creative edge in the future.

I REALLY like this idea of combining humanities with technology, maybe this is why the world is in love with Apple’s products?  I’m not sure it’s that simple, but what I do know is that learning more about Steve Jobs’ business philosophy has left me seriously inspired. 

Hey, I wonder if they actually make an Apple temporary tattoo I could slap on for a few days?   Maybe I’ll ask my shinny new iPad3, (I’ll bet it knows)! 

I quickly learned that I could make more money in the form of tips if I made sure that I delivered the paper to certain subscribers a certain way.  Mr. Gore would pay more if I didn’t walk across his lawn.   Mrs. Johnson would pay more if I tucked the paper in-between the storm door and her front door.   Mr. Smith would pay more if I put his paper inside a plastic bag and then place the bag on the mat in front of the door.    Everything costs something, and then one day it didn’t.

That day was in the spring of 1999 when I signed up for my first "free" e-mail address.  It was my first encounter with a free Internet service and as I look back I can’t remember being at all skeptical about the offer. Why is that?  I think it was because everything about Internet and the World Wide Web was new and different. The old rules were being re-placed or so it seemed by a new set of rules.

But as this article demonstrates, that notion was wrong.  The Internet is bound by the same rules that bound that old paper rout. Everything costs something. 

I’ve re-posted the article below, but you can read that original article, by clicking here

New Google privacy policy allows even more access to personal information

Published March 01, 2012 | Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO –  If you’re amazed — and maybe even a little alarmed — about how much Google seems to know about you, brace yourself. Beginning Thursday, Google will operate under a streamlined privacy policy that enables the Internet’s most powerful company to dig even deeper into the lives of its more than 1 billion users.

Google says the changes will make it easier for consumers to understand how it collects personal information, and allow the company to create more helpful and compelling services. Critics, including most of the country’s state attorneys general and a top regulator in Europe, argue that Google is trampling on people’s privacy rights in its relentless drive to sell more ads.

Here’s a look at some of the key issues to consider as Google tries to learn about you.

Q: How will Google’s privacy changes affect users?

A: Google Inc. is combining more than 60 different privacy policies so it will be able to throw all the data it gathers about each of its logged-in users into personal dossiers. The information Google learns about you while you enter requests into its search engine can be culled to suggest videos to watch when you visit the company’s YouTube site.

Users who write a memo on Google’s online word processing program, Docs, might be alerted to the misspelling of the name of a friend or co-worker a user has communicated with on Google’s Gmail. The new policy pools information from all Google-operated services, empowering the company to connect the dots from one service to the next.

Q: Why is Google making these changes?

A: The company, based in Mountain View, Calif., says it is striving for a "beautifully simple, intuitive user experience across Google." What Google hasn’t spent much time talking about is how being able to draw more revealing profiles about its users will help sell advertising — the main source of its $38 billion in annual revenue.

One reason Google has become such a big advertising network: Its search engine analyzes requests to figure out which people are more likely to be interested in marketing pitches about specific products and services. Targeting the ads to the right audience is crucial because in many cases, Google only gets paid when someone clicks on an ad link. And, of course, advertisers tend to spend more money if Google is bringing them more customers.

Q: Is there a way to prevent Google from combining the personal data it collects from all its services?

A: No, not if you’re a registered user of Gmail, Google Plus, YouTube, or other Google products. But you can minimize the data Google gathers. For starters, make sure you aren’t logged into one of Google’s services when you’re using Google’s search engine, watching a YouTube video or perusing pictures on Picasa. You can get a broad overview of what Google knows about you at www.google.com/dashboard, where a Google account login is required. Google also offers the option to delete users’ history of search activity.

It’s important to keep in mind that Google can still track you even when you’re not logged in to one of its services. But the information isn’t quite as revealing because Google doesn’t track you by name, only through a numeric Internet address attached to your computer or an alphanumeric string attached to your Web browser.

Q: Are all Google services covered by the privacy policy?

A: No, a few products, such as Google’s Chrome Web browser and mobile payment processor Wallet, will still be governed by separate privacy policies.

Q: Is Google’s new privacy policy legal?

A: The company has no doubt about it. That’s why it’s repeatedly rebuffed pleas to delay the changes since announcing the planned revisions five weeks ago. But privacy activists and even some legal authorities have several concerns.

The Electronic Privacy Information Center, a privacy rights group, sued the FTC in a federal court in an effort to force the FTC to exercise its powers and block Google’s privacy changes. A federal judge ruled the courts didn’t have the authority to tell the FTC how to regulate Google. The FTC says it is always looking for evidence that one of its consent orders has been violated.

Earlier this week, the French regulatory agency CNIL warned Google CEO Larry Page that the new policy appears to violate the European Union’s strict data-protection rules. Last week, 36 attorneys general in the U.S. and its territories derided the new policy as an "invasion of privacy" in a letter to Page.

One of the major gripes is that registered Google users aren’t being given an option to consent to, or reject, the changes, given that they developed their dependence on the services under different rules. In particular, people who bought smartphones running on Google’s Android software, and signed two-year contracts to use the devices, may have a tough time avoiding the new privacy policy. They could switch to non-Google services, but those typically don’t work as well on Android software. Or they could buy a different smartphone and pay an early-termination penalty.

Q: What regulatory power do government agencies have to change or amend the privacy changes?

A: The U.S. Federal Trade Commission gained greater oversight over Google’s handling of personal information as part of a settlement reached last year. Google submitted to the agreement after exposing its users email contacts when it launched a now-defunct social networking service called Buzz in 2010. The consent order requires Google’s handling of personal information to be audited every other year and forbids misleading or deceptive privacy changes.

Google met with the FTC before announcing the privacy changes. Neither the company nor the FTC has disclosed whether Google satisfied regulators that the revisions comply with the consent order.

“Our principal, ‘Sue,’ said the laptops ‘increased their educational opportunities’ — all well and good, but she failed to also recognize the importance of IT involvement.”

Most of the small business owners that I talk to already know that their computer network is a living breathing animal that needs to be looked after.  That’s why  Endsight has had so much success applying its outsourced IT support approach to help local businesses maintain reliable computing resources.  Prior to cloud computing or hosting our conversation centered around the care and feeding of the core computing infrastructure (servers, routers and switches, firewalls, etc.)

The advent of cloud computing has allowed a small business owner to shift the responsibility of maintaining the servers to the application provider (hosted e-mail is a good example of this). I think this is really good news from a business perspective and I believe this trend will eventually become the dominant way computing resources to deliver.  But I also think that it also presents a risky temptation to neglect the overall care and feeding of a small business computing environment.

Once the servers have been migrated off site, the endpoint systems (PCs, Macs, and laptops) remain and still require proactive maintenance and care as well is reactive, end-user support.  The routing and switching environment also remains and it also needs to be maintained and supported.

Any failure or performance issue on these remaining, local  network elements will impact a users ability to access the hosted services.  Adopting a “just call my IT provider if there’s a problem” approach to on premise  IT support can cause real headaches and stack up significant costs in the form of productivity loss as well as the hourly rates for expensive repairs.

Endsight is helping many of our clients to take advantage of cloud computing when and where it makes sense.  In every case, we’re helping them to maintain a local support and maintenance regimen that allows them to take advantage of the cloud and at the same time maintain reliable, supported on premise networks. 

To learn more about Endsight’s “all-inclusive” approach to outsource IT support click here.

When I receive these calls I always tell the person on the other end of the line the same thing, "I really wish I could help you, but I’m afraid this isn’t the way that we work with our clients.”   Endsight’s approach to computer system support is fundamentally different when compared to the more traditional break fix or reactive style support model.   Instead of waiting for something to go wrong, our team is working in the background to monitor and proactively tune our clients computer networks to that  they have less problems to begin with. Of course, good maintenance and proactive tuning can’t head everything off and so we do provide reactive support via the Endsight Response Center. Our average response time for an inbound telephone support request is 5 min. or less.  Each time that we close a support ticket, the client receives a client satisfaction survey with five questions. On average, our survey responses ranked 95% highly satisfied.

But even with reactive support there is  key difference between Endsight’s approach when compared to an "as needed" support approach. Endsight response center engineers have access to a wealth of information about each of our clients networks. We are incredibly diligent about making sure that we document each of our clients computer systems before providing reactive support. This helps to assure that when a client calls for reactive computer system support that the response center engineer already has access to all of the information he or she will need to solve the client’s issue. This really helps to reduce the amount of time it takes to solve the problem and also helps to de-hassled the support experience from the client’s perspective.

No one likes the duress that’s caused by reactive repairs. We’re always happy to see the plumber or the HVAC guy but we dread the bill.  The only consolation we have is the hope that the repair we just paid through the nose for will hold for a few years. Computers are a different story though. We’ve all been using them long enough to know that they’re  temperamental little buggers and that in the not-too-distant future that were going to have problems.  That being the case, it’s far less painful to find an IT partner before you have a problem and as you evaluate your options it’s a good idea to look for an IT partner that’s more focused on making sure the problems don’t happen in the first place.

Our clients engage with us to continuously support their network.  To learn more about our Outsourced IT service click here,   or you can can schedule an appointment with me to talk about the details of your specific situation by clicking here: contact us.

But today, smart phones and iPads are changing things.  Particularly for a class of workers that I’ve heard  termed , “information consumers.” As the name implies, Information consumers tend to use more information than they create.  They  spend more of their time reading and responding to e-mail and using their tools to digest information created by other people instead of actually creating  content themselves.

Information consumers tend to be more mobile and traditionally they’ve used a laptop because of it. But it’s never been the perfect tool for the job. I spend a lot of time on the road visiting clients and prospective clients. As a result, I spend a lot of my “in between” time in coffee shops with Internet connections. In between time typically consists of a half-hour here 45 minuets there. I found that in between time is best used to log in and check e-mail and to catch up on phone calls. The brevity of my in-between time makes it difficult to get any other kind of work done.

A laptop is most certainly overkill for just checking your e-mail, but I’ve always found it difficult to do e-mail on a smart phone.   Like most people, my first smartphone  was a BlackBerry. I got pretty good at thumbing out two and three word e-mails, but composing and meaningful response to a client on a thumb pad was incredibly difficult for me.   I traded in my blackberry for an iPhone sometime ago and that certainly didn’t help to alleviate this issue.

As a result, I was always reaching into my bag for my laptop, turning it on, waiting, logging on to the wireless network, waiting, logging on to  the corporate network, waiting and then finally getting to access my e-mail. Depending on the speed and age of my laptop this exercise ranged from a few minutes to whole lot of minutes. It’s an incredibly frustrating process but I didn’t have a lot of options. That is, until now.

My iPad has a battery life of nearly 10 hours and so like my cell phone, it’s always on. I still have to wait a little bit to log onto the wireless network but it’s only a little bit. The big problem with the iPad is the integrated keyboard. It’s still difficult to pound out e-mail on the touchscreen. I solved that problem by purchasing a wireless keyboard that also serves as a protective case for the tablet.

I downloaded an app that allows me to create a remote desktop connection to my corporate resources. The app allows me to use the touchscreen to simulate a mouse cursor and it does an okay job, but again I really wouldn’t use this out to open up a word document and try to create a proposal or scope of work. There’s just not enough real estate on screen and the user interface is just too different for me. But I can certainly use it to login to Endsight business system to check on the status of the project or to reschedule a site visit.

I’m still heavily reliant on my laptop. In fact, I’m using it to compose this blog.  But my iPad has forever displaced it while I’m on the road. Quick access to my e-mail  while I’m mobile is just one of the things I like about my iPad. If you’re considering incorporating  a tablet into your computing environment and you like to hear more about my experience click here and let’s set up a time to talk in person.

By Scott Gordon
Part of the ECT News Network
07/22/09 4:00 AM PT

It’s nice to have an IT staffer in house who has intimate knowledge of your business, your network and your needs. However, few individuals are experts in all areas, and those who have the requisite skills don’t come cheap. No individual can be available 24/7 either. For many small and medium-sized businesses, outsourcing may be a better solution.

Maintaining the network. Ensuring remote users have access to resources. Updating virus definitions. Troubleshooting email problems. Any number of IT issues can arise on a daily basis.

So does it make sense for small businesses to hire a full-time IT staffer or outsource their IT needs? That depends. Weighing the pros and cons in both scenarios can help determine which option is likely to best serve small businesses.

In-House IT Support: Pros

Easy access: A tech support person on staff can address issues immediately. Other clients won’t be competing for your IT staffer’s time, though there may be other departments doing so.

Cost control: As a full-time employee, your IT support staffer’s salary remains the same, regardless of the tasks undertaken — for example, troubleshooting a printer problem, setting up a new server, or staying late on a Thursday night to complete an operating system upgrade. This means that your costs remain steady even as your technology needs change. This can be a double-edged sword, however.

In-House IT Support: Cons

Upfront and hidden costs: Hiring a full-time IT professional is an expensive endeavor. Providing that pro with a computer, desk, telephone extension, payroll account and benefits drives the cost up even higher. For many small businesses, having a full-time IT specialist with a full-time salary working on staff is too cost-prohibitive to even be considered a viable option. Not to mention the costs associated with ongoing training for IT personnel.

Limited technological expertise: Your IT specialist may be good with Excel and handy when it comes to figuring out why the printer isn’t working, but may not be as savvy when it comes to diagnosing network security issues or upgrading the Exchange server. It’s unlikely that one IT professional will be able to provide expertise for all of your technological needs. If having one full-time person is costly, you might not want to calculate the cost for a small team of specialists!

Outsourcing IT Support: Pros

Less expensive: All things considered, outsourcing tends to be less expensive than hiring a full-time IT employee in-house. Many costs — such as overhead — are spread over several clients via the agency model. Additionally, your small business doesn’t have to worry about costs associated with training or certifying IT staff.

Round-the-clock service: Most professional IT help desk or tech support firms offer their customers 24/7 access to tech support specialists, either by phone or through remote computer access. This means that you’ll have someone to walk you through resetting your email password — even at 2 a.m. What’s more, if your main contact is sick, there will be a substitute that you can count on.

Outsourcing IT Support: Cons

Language or cultural differences: Struggling to understand your tech support specialist can make a frustrating situation even worse. Unfortunately, many small businesses choose offshore outsourcing as their least-expensive option, while not considering the time and aggravation spent on communication issues. This can be mitigated either by carefully interviewing various offshore firms and giving them a "test drive," or by hiring a local firm. The latter may also allow you to have the specialist on-site, which is highly recommended for handling most IT support needs.

Not part of the team: Because outsourced IT specialists are there only when scheduled or when you need them to fix a problem, you’ll spend time bringing them up to speed when issues do arise or when you want them to provide advice on future technology initiatives. Again, there is a solution: Get an outsourced firm involved in your IT needs on an ongoing basis via "managed services." This way, the firm can help with routine help desk and tech support issues, and will be more fully plugged in to your needs and requirements when it comes time to upgrade the network.

And the Winner Is: Outsource Locally

Certainly, small businesses have a variety of options for solving their tech support issues. For most small businesses, however, outsourcing is the best option. Outsourcing tech support needs allows businesses to stay focused on their own core offerings without getting sidetracked on IT projects. It also allows businesses access to cutting-edge resources and expertise, without the costs typically associated with staying ahead of the technology curve.

For many small businesses, outsourcing to a local firm provides the right combination of cost savings, flexibility and round-the-clock support without the language or cultural issues that sometimes arise with offshore firms. Outsourcing locally also provides small business owners peace of mind that when they need on-site tech support, they can get it, thus allowing them to manage their business, not their network.