Greg Nixon - New Zealand Computing Solutions

How does SkyDrive work with Word 2013

2013-05-15T21:09:00.001+12:00

Microsoft SkyDrive: What is it?

SkyDrive is a Microsoft SkyDrive file hosting services that allow users to upload and synchronize files to the cloud. It means that the files can be stored and retrieved from Microsoft SkyDrive cloud, instead on local computer drives. For example the following figure.1 shows the general concept of cloud storage.

Files stored in the cloud has the following advantages.

Availability: Even, if your computer is damaged or your hard drives dies you don’t need to worry, because the files stored on cloud are in safe hands.
Access anywhere anytime: If you are in the office, out of the office, in meeting or at home etc. You don’t need to carry all important files in printed form or in soft form on storage device like USB Flash drive. The file can be accessed everywhere where internet is available.
Synchronized your files: You can synchronize your files with your laptop an desktop and acess them on your smartphone and Tablet. Minor or major updates to a file can be saved without any inconsistency.
Easy Sharing: The file can be shared with a number of users. Just create a link of your file and shared these links by email, with Microsoft Skype or with social networking sites.

Microsoft SkyDrive registration and login: How to do it?

Step 1: Open Microsoft word 2013.

The Word 2013 interface is consists of different components, some of them are highlighted and shown below. The red highlighted options are the menu, the yellow highlighted rectangle are called tool-box, the blue rectangle area is your working space for typing your documents. The green highlighted rectangle shows if you are logged in or not so you can access Skydrive.

Step 2: If you are already loged in your name will appear as shown in the following window (Its Joe Blogs in my case). If you are new user, then follow step 4.

Step 3: Click on the top right corner as shown in the following snapshot. It will appear a small window that shows your login name (if already login) with some other information about your profile. By clicking “Switch User” option a user can change SkyDrive user.

Step 4: If you are not logged in, then by clicking the top right corner option as shown above. A window as like below.

If you are already registered user, then type your email address in the text box. If your email is not registered with Microsoft SkyDrive cloud, then it will appear an option “Sign Up”.

Step 5: Click on “Sign Up” option. A Microsoft account form as shown.

Fill out the Microsoft account form by providing your email address and the other necessary information. The submission of this form will register your email address with Microsoft SkyDrive cloud. Look it to the top right corner of your MS Word interface. If your name appeared on the screen, then you are a valid user of Microsoft SkyDrive cloud system.

Saving you documents on SkyDrive: How to do it?

Step 1: Type something you want to store on SkyDrive. Then click on “File” menu.

Step 2: Click on “Save/ Save as” button appeared on the screen. This will show four options for saving your document, for example you can store on SkyDrive, Other Web Locations, Computer (normally your local computer Hard Disk), and “Add a place” of your own choice.

Step 3: As we want to store to SkyDrive, click on “SkyDrive” option and the click on “Browse” button appeared on the right side of SkyDrive option.

I have already stored two word documents. The three folders are created by default for you.

Step 4: Give a name to your document and click on “Save” button just as you would if you were saving to your local documents.

Opening file from Microsoft SkyDrive: How to do it?

Step 1: Open MS Word 2013, and click on “File” menu.

Step 2: Click on “Open” option on appeared on “File” menu.
A window will appear as shown in the following figure 15.

We can see that I have already stored three highlighted documents on SkyDrive. The location of the file is clearly visible under file name. You can choose “Recent Documents” or “SkyDrive.

Step 4: Click on “Browse” option on the right side of your own SkyDrive (Joe Blogs’s SkyDrive in my case).

Step 5: Select the file you want to open and click on “Open” button.

How "Find my iPhone" worked

2013-05-10T12:06:00.000+12:00

I attended a meeting in Lower Hutt yesterday afternoon, when Tracey rang me and said she had lost her iPhone 5 and that I could trace it. Knowing someone who had there iPhone stolen recently, I knew time was of the essence. I logged into the Find My iPhone app on my phone and was surprised to see the phone was in the Wanganui suburb of Gonville. Not somewhere Tracey had been recently.

There was a slight problem, Apple maps doesn't show street numbers. I had to use Google maps to cross reference the location, which enabled me to work out the street number, which took some time.

I told Tracey she should go to the Police rather than just going to the location. Sara from Wanganui Police called me and asked a few questions about where it was. I tried to talk them through viewing the location using iCloud/Find but it turns out the Police need a technology upgrade and couldn't access it.

I emailed through some photos I took and also asked a client, Armstrong Barton who were across the road to print out some pictures and take them to the Police station.

Tracey follow the Police with Tracey headed out to Gonville. I bet the residence got a surprise to see them. I had set up a message on the phone saying it was lost and to call me. When they arrived at the location I made the phone play sounds so that it would help them locate it.

It turns out they had found the phone and it had been run over. They had tried to answer it when I had called it but had no luck and couldn't see my message on the screen. Yes, Tracey had put it on top of the car and taken it for a drive. They had found it on St Johns Hill. I'm a little unsure why they did not take it to the police station, but maybe they had not had a chance. It is amazing the phone still managed to send a signal.

I would like to thank Sara and Marty from the Wanganui Police for their help, as while not a perfect outcome at least we can look at repairing it and overall had a positive experience with Find My iPhone.

How to use Marge Cells for Heading in Excel

2013-05-02T22:08:00.002+12:00

Select D2 and E2 Cells
On the Home tab, in the Alignment group, click Marge & Center icon

Excel tip provided by Jobaer Ahmed Arif

Do your want UFB in Wanganui now?

2013-04-21T10:25:00.001+12:00

There are a few things to consider when choosing an UFB plan like speed, data cap and contract length. Being an early adopter is great and at NZCS we always try bleeding edge technology that can help us run our business better as soon as we can.

Like every adventure there can be some stumbling blocks along the journey:

1. The networks tend to be down more than broadband at the moment. The is the normal settling in of technology so if your internet is critical then keep a broadband connection as a backup for now.

2. The early offerings are generally at a premium price. I personally think the prices are ok but feedback from our business clients suggest a number want to wait for the big players to get into the market as they feel it is over priced as they compare it to their current broadband cost. The other issue with this is some vendors are locking you into a 24 month contract. I would avoid that. 12 months is fine but 2 years is a long time in the telco industry and you know they want to lock you in before the big player come in and cut prices. So check the fine print.

Your ISP will sometimes offer you a router to connect to the UFB but generally these are very cheap models with only basic functionally and security. I would not recommended these for business use just as we do not use the broadband routers supplied. You are better to talk to your IT company and get them to install a decent business grade firewall router with good throughput. If you keep a broadband connection you can get a router that will automatically failover to that connection if the UFB goes down.

If you have a shared driveway or work in a multi-tenanted building prepare for a long wait to get installed as they struggle with the legal implications - experiences suggests it could take more than 6 weeks and in fact I still do not have it at home even though it is available and ordered.

Ultra fast broadband is great for Wanganui so get on board

Five Reasons to Have a Contract with an IT Company

2013-03-31T16:56:00.000+13:00

Five Reasons to Have a Contract with an IT Company

When you’re running a business, you don’t want to experience IT system breakdowns. However, it’s a reality that all businesses encounter.

There is something, however, that you can do about it: Be prepared for these network breakdowns. The best way to do this is by working with an IT company. To take it further, you should have a contract with this IT company.

Misconceptions about contracting with an IT Company

Not all IT companies use contracts with their customers. They claim that they don’t want to bind them with this vital legal document.

However, what customers don’t know about these types of IT companies would definitely change their minds about working with them. For instance, contract-free IT companies charge for every phone call a business makes to them; additionally, they can then charge as much as they like for their services, very often much higher than an IT company bound by its contract and commitment to its customer.

And it gets worse …

When your network breaks down, you don’t get immediate service. Because an IT tech is likely unavailable, you might have to wait as long as 48 hours before you’re finally serviced. Therefore, you’ll join a long waiting list of other companies desperately seeking service.

When your network is finally serviced, it’s often not done properly. The IT company just patches up your IT system – resulting in future failure. Thus, you’ll need their service again.

And worst of all …

This whole ordeal causes you to lose revenue. The longer your network is down, the more business and money you’ll lose. And as any business knows, losing money hurts.

Why Having a Contract with an IT Company is Positive

When you sign a contract with an IT company such as NZCS, this is a positive decision for your business. For starters, you’re not locked into a contract like contract-free IT companies want you to believe. You’re simply forming a relationship that involves a commitment similar to marriage.

With that commitment, here’s what you get:

Flat rate service, which includes being able to call NCZS whenever you need our IT service. Because there’s no additional charge with this type of service, it’s much cheaper than paying the call-out charges non-contracting IT companies are known for.
When you call NZCS, we will respond to your network issues immediately. We know you can’t put your business on hold, and we don’t want you to. Furthermore, since NZCS uses cloud technology to remotely monitor and access your systems, we have the capability to restore normal network operations in the shortest possible time scale. Within 5 minutes of calling us, you could be up and running again.
A contract is a legal way to hold a company by its word. Without one, a company is capable of lying throughout the business transaction. Good luck trying to sue them minus a contract!
NZCS is a small business that cares about its customers. When you contact us, we’re going to take care of you. As this is a partnership, it is in everybody’s interest that the highest quality of service is provided.

And best of all …

Given that your network is down for the minimum possible time, you won’t lose any revenue. In fact, you might gain money. This is because businesses that use contract-free IT companies could be down for so long that their customers will go to businesses that are up and running – businesses such as yours.

So, with all the positive results that come from signing a contract with an IT company, you can go home with peace of mind. You know your business’ network is in good hands.

If you want your business to run smoothly without the threat of losing customers and revenue, choose an IT company that works with contracts.

Choose New Zealand Computing Solutions as your IT provider and experience the difference.

Quick things you can do using Google

2013-01-30T14:10:00.000+13:00

Google provides instant answers to more and more to save you having to go off to other web sites. In the IT industry we quite often would like to know what a persons public ip address is. In the past we would send people to dedicated web sites like IP Chicken and whatsmyipaddress but now we don't need the extra click and Goolge tells you the answer straight away by simply saying "my ip".

Google is also a great calculator. You can simply say 10+5 and it will give you an answer as well as displaying a calculator.

I have long used Google for helping me spell better as like a lot of IT people spelling is not a strong skill and the dictionary in Microsoft Office never understands me but Google nearly always does. You can also use it to learn the meaning of words. Simple say define in front of the word. eg define luddite

Other instant answers include time. eg NZ time will give you the current date time in New Zealand. Finding out conversions for example 10 ft to meters or 12 degrees Celsius to Fahrenheit and even currency like 1 nz to usd.

I probably sound like a Google fan boy and to a large degree I am as the small things like this adds so much value to my life.

How to double underline text in Excel

2013-01-28T13:48:00.000+13:00

Select the text, cell, range of cells, or characters that you want to double underline.
On the Home tab, in the Font group, click the down arrow in side of U icon.
Then select and click Double Underline

Note: You can also make different types of underline. On the Home tab, in the Font group, click the Format Cell Font dialog box launcher next to Font, and then select the style that you want in the Underline list.

How to create a number series quickly/easily in Excel

2013-01-27T13:38:00.000+13:00

Creating a series of numbers is very quick and easy in Excel without having to manually type them out one by one.

Enter some data as like in the below screen shot

Select B4 and B5 cells
Pull down the mouse pointer from B5 cell with + sign up to B18 (right hand side corner)

Five Tips for Sending Great Emails and Saving People Time

2013-01-05T22:35:00.001+13:00

I recently used an application called RescueTime, which is a time analysis application that measures your productivity. With this service’s help, I discovered that emailing was the activity that I engaged in the most – averaging 13 hours per week.

RescueTime considers this productive but I don't. Although staying on top of your emails is important, it’s not generally profitable (at least not directly).

The Business of Handling Emails

Because I get so many emails, I sometimes overlook an important one. Then sometimes I choose not to reply right away so that I can move on to other important activities.

The Coneybeer Email Management System, which I previously discussed in another blog, helps a lot. NZCS has also written a tool for one of our clients which I plan to use in the New Year. This tool sends you a text if you have more than 50 items in your inbox. As a bonus, it also sends texts a buddy to put some social pressure on you to get on top of your emails.

While the above can help you manage your emails, you might wonder how you can help others who receive your emails. Here’s how:

If you send an email with multiple people listed in the “To” section, you’re less likely to get a reply. Some of them might leave it to the other enlistees to respond. Also, don’t send out machine gun attacks; instead target as few people as possible with your emails. And last, in regards to emailing multiple people, use “CC” for people you’re only including out of courtesy.
Is your email going to start a short conversation that might be resolved faster through a quick phone call? Email is important when a record is required; however, a quick voice conversation is faster and won’t disrupt you multiple times. If you like, you can write a summary email after your call.
Are you sure your email has a clear purpose minus not wasting your recipients’ time? You shouldn’t expect them to read your mind either. Sometimes I spend time writing an email and think, “hmm, actually I know the answer already” and conclude there’s no point in continuing the email. Other times I realize a phone call would be much faster. While it’s easy to fire off something that seems as clear as day to you, the reader isn’t beside you. Therefore, he or she has no context of the things that might surround the issue or question.
Ensure the subject line is clear. Often during email exchanges, the conversation changes. However, some people forget to change the email’s subject line. Keep it relative to the subject; remove old non-related parts of the email; for these later become searchable references. It’s much easier to find them later if they’re well defined.

2013 Email Goal

My goal for the upcoming year is to reduce the amount of time I spend on emails; thus, freeing me to do more productive work.

Excel: How to Highlight Numerical Cells by using Conditional Formatting

2012-12-27T14:02:00.001+13:00

Enter some data in B and C column as like above Excel snapshot
Select C3 to C17 cells
On the Home tab, in the Styles group, click the arrow next to Conditional Formatting, and then select Highlight Cells Rules
Click Greater Than…

In the GREATER THAN: box, type 30 and then click OK button.

The Problem isn’t Multinational Taxes … Instead it’s David Clark’s Mentality!

2012-12-03T16:36:00.000+13:00

Labour Party revenue spokesperson David Clark recently stated that New Zealand "is going to find it increasingly difficult to tax multinational, digital-based companies like Google and Facebook" and that multinational, digital businesses were "making a mockery of tax loopholes."

Read the article here.

David Clark’s views are about as close-minded as the media companies complaining about their old failing business models while trying to destroy people like Kim Dotcom rather than sitting back and looking for ways to innovate. Stop bitching about the new world and work out a way to live and thrive in it!

These companies are no different from anybody else in New Zealand or around the world that hire an accountant to minimize their tax obligation. No one wants to pay more taxes than they have to. That’s why they use legal means to reduce their taxes.

Ireland is clever with its tax operation. New Zealand should search for innovative ways to make our country a world class technology hub. Although we might get a lower percentage in taxes, think about the upside of this: huge gains in jobs, product development, and more money coming through New Zealand books.

Our country simply can’t afford to have a limited mindset such as David Clark’s, especially if we want to move forward with the rest of the world in being globally competitive. The best thing David Clark can do to help New Zealand in this matter is to open his mind to the change arising around him.

Multinational digital companies have carried us into a dimension that enhances our lives. And for Clark to complain about low percentage taxes of these companies is frankly an embarrassment to our great country.

To sum it up …

New Zealand would be better off with Clark shutting up and learning to embrace the global change that is actually making business better for New Zealand businesses.

Demystifying the Windows 8 ‘Start Menu’

2012-12-03T09:53:00.001+13:00

This guide came about by the bad press and perceptions that Windows 8 is a flop. I can understand that people do not like change and that tradition is hard to break. I ask you to be open minded here; think back to when Windows 95 came out and the start menu came into existence. I bet people hated the idea then but quickly fell in love with the concept. I believe we are at that stage again; it’s only a matter of time before people start loving the new user interface. Overall we are very excited about Windows 8 and Windows 2012, these are game changer operating systems and the possibilities are endless as to how we can provide superior service and support to our customers and clients using the new software.

Windows 8 Start Screen:

When clicking Desktop you get the main Windows traditional Desktop minus the traditional start menu button. The way to think of it is the menu is now a whole screen rather than a small menu in the bottom left corner.

The major difference you notice here is the missing start menu and for the first week or two it may drive you a bit nutty as we retain our brain not to go to the bottom right corner and try and learn to use the WINKEY and then start to type the name of your app eg iTunes you will find it is actually better than using a mouse to the start menu as most people do in Windows 7.

From the Start menu you can right click anywhere in the open space on the start screen and you get an all APPS menu:

Clicking it brings up all programs and applications that are installed on the computer, this then allows you to further customise the start screen. One of the best things to do is to arrange your most commonly used apps to the left of the start menu.

When right clicking on one of the apps you have a range of options to select, such as pinning the program to the desktop task bar or pinning the program to the start screen. One of the first things I did was pin my top 5 applications to the taskbar.

To move your apps around simply click and hold down the left mouse button and drag the app to the desired group. Group as you pin apps into groups or create new groups:

If pinning options are not available that simply means that the app/program has already been pinned. Though you will then get the option to unpin the app/program.

To customise your start menu, right click on an app to see the available options:

When clicking on the minus button on the far side right hand side of the scroll bar you get a groups menu. This allows you to move the Windows 8 start groups around; if you right click on these groups you then have the opportunity to name the group to something of your choice:

The group menu:

Right clicking a group:

When on the traditional desktop mode, move the mouse to the bottom right hand corner and right click. Here you will find a contextual menu with system options. This is very useful when managing a Windows 8 PC:

Moving your mouse to the top right hand side of the screen you are presented with the charms menu. You can also press WINKEY+C to open the charms menu:

To shut down the computer click on the settings button on the Charms menu and then press power – you will be given a few options, such as log off, sleep, and shutdown:

Settings Menu

A fast way to get to the power option is to press the WINKEY+I.

For some more very helpful Windows 8 shortcut keys to speed up your experience I recommend reading Windows 8 Tip: Find Anything with Search by Paul Thurrott.

See the World with Street View Mashups

2012-12-01T22:43:00.001+13:00

The internet is always creating new ways for searchers to explore it: encyclopedic websites such Wikipedia, how-to websites such as eHow.com, and so on. We even have the advantage to befriend people from around the world with sites such as Facebook.

The internet just got more interesting with a new creation: street view mashups.

What Are Street View Mashups?

With street view mashups you can view an area without actually being there. This is beneficial in three ways:

You don’t have to spend money to travel. Simply get online and with one of the street view mashups, travel the world at your own pace.
If you’re planning to visit a city or town, you can view it prior to your actual visit. This is good because you can immediately learn which areas to avoid.
If you’re looking for a business, then you don’t have to stumble anymore to find it. For example, let’s say you’re new to Wanganui and haven’t familiarize the entire town yet. If you’re searching for a particular address in Wanganui, then the street view mashups can help you locate it before leaving your house. This is just as good as a GPS – yet at a cheaper price!
Unlike Google Maps, which blurs out anything beyond the streets, you can see people’s faces, and what they’re doing. Some of the street view mashups even show you Tweets from the area. It’s a different viewing experience.

Five Street View Mashups Worth Exploring the Globe With

Now that you know the value of using street view mashups, here are five that are worth using:

The Beat This is a project created by the Social Media Information Lab at the School of Communications and Information at Rutgers University. This site combines Instagram pictures and Google Street View locations to help its users explore various areas and topics. Let’s take Wanganui for example again. If you type in "Wanganui" then you’ll see pictures that were taken in the area alongside street views of Wanganui – both courtesy of Instagram and Google Street View.
Instant Google Street View: Something totally amazingly different occurs as you type a street address into the website’s address bar; making its name –instant – quite appropriate. As you type, pictures of various global locations with similar addresses show up on the screen.
MapCrunch: With this mashup, you can explore 40 countries randomly. These spectacular sceneries are provided by Google Street View. You just simply choose a country shown on MapCrunch’s menu, and click the green "go" button.
Show My Street: This is another mashup associated with Google Street View. In fact, it works like Instant Google Street View, including displaying a map in the corner of the screen.
The only difference between the two is that Show My Street only has a satellite map while Instant Google Street View has a satellite and street map.
Geosay: This mashup website brings people’s comments and maps together. What it does is show what people near the area are saying on Twitter, Wikipedia and Foursquare about the location. It also uses satellite and street maps.

So if you’re looking to find your way around, it just got easier with these street view mashups.

Iphone problems with iOS 6 and ActiveSync

2012-10-30T01:20:00.000+13:00

Iphone problems with iOS 6 and ActiveSync

Every OS upgrade brings up a few kinks, but none quite as problematic as the latest one in Apple's recent history. The company's iOS 6 has been less than sterling, with a significant number of users complaining and asking for a rollback. One of the most serious bugs found in this operating system is its incompatibility with Exchange ActiveSync - a complex XML protocol from Microsoft that handles the synchronization of mail, events, and tasks (among others) between a server and a mobile gadget.

Immediately after updating their iPhones to iOS 6, users began reporting problems with push email delivery. Though not all users experienced the push problem, those who did were forced to check for email manually. The same push issue occurred during the upgrade to iOS 4.

Apart from the email delivery issue, the so-called "hijacking" bug of calendar meetings is considered one of the most annoying issues concerning Exchange ActiveSync and iOS 6 at the moment. What happens is that once the invite is sent, the meeting organizer position shifts to one of the invitees for no reason, leaving the original organizer unable to make changes or cancel certain meeting details.

There is no sign of a solution yet, as Apple rarely responds to such queries until a viable solution is on hand. What's worse, Microsoft can't exactly work on the issue, as the problem lies not in EAS itself, but in iOS 6. Apple's recent track record notoriously shows that it barely acknowledges the need to work with EAS, hence a high level of known issues when EAS is used in conjunction with Apple products.

Microsoft's workaround suggestions from the bug are useful but take away an important functionality. Users are asked not to use iOS 6 devices to change any calendar details, which means a serious loss of efficiency for many EAS users. Another option is to switch to POP/IMAP to avoid the use of EAS for the moment. Finally, Microsoft recommends users to refrain from upgrading to iOS 6, but at this point the warning may be moot. The company has acknowledged the issue but cannot fix the bug – as it is the ball is in Apple's court now, and iPhone and EAS users are waiting.

Moving your small business email to Office 365

2012-10-05T23:37:00.000+13:00

Do you think that switching from your small business email to Office 365 is a difficult task? You will be glad to know that with the right help it is a seemless process. As a business owner, you will no doubt know that "Perception" is very important word in business – even if you are small business, you don't always want to be "Perceived" as a one-man band. By moving your small business email to Office 365, you will be equipped with all the tools needed to take your business to the next level.

Microsoft Office 365 is a great fit for the small business which doesn't have a dedicated mail server

You can subscribe to get the Office 365 for a small monthly fee per user. It is a great solution if you still use pop3 mail accounts or have a mobile workforce and you can access your mail anywhere on any of your devices like your IPad, Iphone or Outlook on your PC. Your small businesses will be equipped to create a very professional and polished image – Office 365 is indeed the best option you have to move your small business information technology to the cloud and save money on infrastructure.

Why Switch Your Business Email to Office 365?

Free email addresses are okay, but if you want to be taken seriously as a company (small or not), Office 365 helps you achieve this. You can easily have all your emails sent directly to you from your very own domain name, utilizing the "Microsoft Exchange Online" – this will ensure that your email exudes professionalism. Office 365 comes with a feature known as "SharePoint Online" used in creating a professional looking site which is great for sharing documents and information with your team. The 365 "Lync Online" is utilized in hosting online-based meetings that can easily be set up using Outlook. These are just some of the features that come with Office 365.

Get to Work In or Out of Your Office

With the Office 365, you will no longer have to be at the office all the time in order to get work done. You will be glad to know that files, data and security are hosted in the cloud. Users will only be able to access it via a browser. You can send emails through outlook web application; access documents through the Office Web Applications; and even make use of your cell phone to access file and data in the cloud. Thus, giving you the freedom to focus on your business from any part of the world where you have access.

What about Security?

If you choose to host your own servers and other equipment without a proactive managed service agreement there is a strong possibility of being subject to unexpected power outages, local Inter Service Provider (ISP) connectivity and security issues, equipment failure and not having the proper updates for seamless operations. You will also be happy to know that Microsoft has put in a lot of money creating premier data centers that hosts thousands of customers' data and have also set up an uptime that is 99.9%

Want to find out more?

Office 365 offers small businesses big business features are small business prices and allow you to work on any device from anywhere and provide them with a safe and secure work environment. Contact us to explorer if Office 365 is right for your business.

A lot has changed in Windows 8

2012-10-02T00:25:00.001+13:00

If you are coming from Android and iOS devices, you may feel at home with Windows 8, but everyone else may get lost in the new operating system.

If you are feeling a bit confused by the new OS, here are a few quick tips and tricks that will immediately improve your Windows 8 experience.

Unlocking the Screen

Windows 8 launches to its lock screen but offers no clue what to do next. All you have to do to get started is to tap the space bar, spin the mouse wheel, or swipe the screen upwards.

The Start Menu

Windows 8 does not have a Start Menu. Instead, it has a Start Screen. Windows 8 loads the Start Screen after you unlocked it, and you can return to it anytime by left-clicking the lower-left corner or by hitting the Windows key. Right clicking the corner brings up the power user and administrative menu (device manager, Control panel, etc.).

Launching Applications

To find your applications, you press the Windows and 'Q" keys or right click the Start Screen and select "All Apps" and then navigate then menu by swiping the screen or using the mouse wheel. You can place your favorite apps on the top of the Start Street for quick access by right clicking their icons and selecting "Pin to Start."
You close your apps by moving their windows off the screen.

The Task Bar

Windows 8 does not have a task bar, but it does have task pane. To view this pane, all you have to do is either press the Windows and Tab keys or move your mouse to the top left corner of the screen.

Shutting down

When your Windows session is done, you have a few options to choose. You can either click the Settings icon in the lower right corner or press the Windows and 'I' keys, use the classic Cntrl+Alt+Delete, or Alt+F4 while in Desktop Mode. You then simply click the power button to select shut down or restart.

Windows 8 is a largest shift in Windows computing since Windows 95 and may take you a while to learn, but these tips and tricks will get you started on the long road to becoming a Windows 8 expert.

Windows 8 is just around the corner

2012-09-27T01:04:00.000+12:00

What To Expect From Windows 8

Windows 8 is promising to be the most revolutionary version of Windows yet. As the release of the Developer and Consumer Preview has shown, the new OS is a far cry from previous Windows versions, namely Windows XP, Vista, and 7.

Consumer reactions to the new Windows 8 environment range from extreme caution to excitement. After the Windows Vista flop, it's easy to see why most people are wary about jumping headfirst into Windows 8. But still, most are viewing the whole thing with optimism. Here are some Windows 8 facts that are making the tech world buzz:

No more boxes!

Upgrading to Windows 8 can be entirely done online. No need for reservations and queuing up at the comp store for that elusive copy. On October 26, Windows 8 will be made available to the public online. This means that anyone with an Internet connection can upgrade to the new OS regardless of location. Also, Windows is running a promotion that lets XP, Vista, and 7 users get Windows 8 for a discounted price of $40US if they buy it before January 31, 2013.

New Windows 8 interface

Previously called the "Metro UI" (the name was changed after another company made a copyright lawsuit threat), the Windows 8 user interface is presented as a series of customizable cascading tiles that resemble closely those that can be found on the Windows Phone mobile OS. This move shows that the Windows 8 is an OS that is highly-optimized for touch devices. Many users might find it shocking to see the Start button and the familiar icons missing, but they can still opt to use the Classic desktop if they want to.

Apps all in one place

Windows Store is Microsoft's answer to the Mac App Store. All of the apps and software that can be used on a Windows 8 device are found here. There is no more need to buy installation CDs or DVDs. Since all of the apps that are available on the Windows Store are Microsoft-approved, Windows 8 users can be assured of safe downloads everytime (no malware or trojans!). Also, software and apps that are downloaded from the Store are always automatically updated.

The Importance of Training Your Staff About Social Engineering

2012-09-16T20:57:00.000+12:00

The internet is a joy for millions of people worldwide. You can gain insightful information, shop, pay bills, and talk to people on the other side of the country or world – all via the internet.

Unfortunately, in the wrong hands, the internet can also be a nightmare for the same people who cherish it. This is because of the latest scheming method called social engineering.

What is Social Engineering?

Social engineering is a technique con artists use to gain unauthorized access into a company’s sensitive data. There’s a twist, however, with this type of conning versus the traditional hacking methods. The con artist visits a company and poses as an IT person. Prior to acting in this role, he plans a strategy that includes befriending a particular company employee. So while relying on human psychology, the friendly, fake IT person manages to trick the employee into revealing private information such as his or her office account, password, data, etc.

Some fake IT persons even manage to eavesdrop on employees talking about company information, at which time they overhear sensitive information being mentioned. As a result of these acts, the con artist has the information needed to break through firewalls and other security systems - gaining full access to private information.

Meet Cosmo the Hacker 'God'

Social engineering has con artists as long as 15 years old. This is the age of Cosmo the Hacker 'God'.

Cosmo took on the role of social engineering within his group UGNazi (short for "underground nazi"). For nearly a year, they stole private data from financial and government institutions such as NASDAQ, the CIA, and California’s government website. They even managed to steal New York mayor Michael Bloomberg’s social security and address.

They even used social engineering on accounts from Amazon, Apple, AOL, AT&T, Best Buy, Buy.com, Live.com, Microsoft, Netflix, Network Solutions, PayPal, Sprint and T-Mobile.

Cosmo and his robbing crew were arrested. He’s awaiting a court date, possibly ending with him spending his 16th birthday, which is in March, behind prison bars.

Unfortunately, social engineering doesn’t end with Cosmo. There are thousands – maybe millions – of other social engineers that are either planning their hacking strategy or already enforcing it.

This is why it’s important to train your staff about social engineering so they won’t put your company’s private data into the wrong hands.

Read more about Cosmo in Mat Honan's blog Post at this link:
Cosmo, the Hacker ‘God’ Who Fell to Earth

How to Train Your Staff to Recognize Social Engineering

The following five tips will help you train your staff to recognize social engineering before hackers obtain your business data:

1) Train your staff to provide good customer service … with caution. Every business wants a good image and this starts with providing good customer service. However, it’s this friendliness that hackers prey on. They use it to their advantage by stating that they could use help in getting some private information in order to do their IT job.

Combat their conniving strategy by training your staff to verify all inquiries – regardless of who a person claims to be. This is a very important step since social engineer participants are very good at lying.

2) Secure your business. You wouldn't let anyone into your home. You’d secure it with a home alarm system, burglar bars, a watch dog – you’d make sure it’s safe. So why not do the same for your business?

Therefore, consider hiring a security company. Check to see if any complaints have ever been filed against the company and if they screen their potential employees. This can be the gatekeeper of your business; let them verify everyone who enters your building by showing proof of their identity.

And this leads to the next tip …

3) Make a phone call to validate any IT person asking for assistance. Con artists posing as IT workers will ask an employee for permission to download something onto their computer. Or they might request a password. They will claim these requests are necessary in order fix a computer problem.

Unless this person has worked on your computer before, their requests should be denied. Instruct your employees to call the IT company and validate the worker and their request.

Also, workers who manage private information should validate inquiries with non-public information including calling the person back. Again, this protects your company from data leakage and con artists eager to steal private data.

4) Train your staff to avoid picking up strange items such as USB keys. If your employee finds an USB key, the last thing they should do is plug it into their computer. This is because that USB key is the key for con artists to steal every piece of data off their computers.

Instead, designate a lost and found area in your business; thus, allowing employees to return items they find at this location. Also, be sure to assign a gatekeeper to this area; for curious minds might return to steal the information themselves and see what’s on it – playing into the human psychology of curiosity. Remember, social engineering relies on human psychology.

5) Advise employees to monitor their conversations. Explain to your employees that you never know who’s around and listening to every word they say. While they might think people are eavesdropping on information about their hot date the night before or how their spouse irked them for the millionth time, hackers using social engineering could care less about these details. Instead they’re interested in private information that will give them gateway inside your business’ private system.

So tell them to monitor their conversations and most importantly, don’t discuss business information so openly, especially in the presence of other people.

Training your employees with these tips will enable you to combat hackers relying on the wits of social engineering.

Five Reasons to Avoid Building a Flash Website

2012-08-30T10:03:00.001+12:00

With the internet’s popularity increasing, it’s makes good business sense to have an online presence via a website. This is, after all, how most businesses are gaining new customers these days.

If you don’t have a website yet realize this is the new way of conducting business, you will want to hire a web designing business such as New Zealand Computing Solutions (NZCS) to build you a website. You will likely want an attractive site that will entice people to explore your entire website.

You might contemplate building a website with spectacular graphics. In other words, you want a website that will make your competitors’ websites look like "the grandfather" of websites.

While having such a website is fine, you don’t want go to the extreme. In this case, the extreme would be designing your website with flash.

What is Flash?

Flash, which was originally developed in 1996 as Future Splash, is a website design that uses non-html proprietary software. It produces astonishing graphics. However, you if you want your website more than just an online showcase, by all means avoid building it with flash. It won’t reach its full potential of success if you use flash.

Here are five reasons why you should avoid designing your website with flash:

Flash is invisible on iPhones and iPads.

With the rising popularity of these mobile devices, more people are viewing the internet while on the go. If you website is built with flash, mobile device users won’t even be able to view your website – resulting in loss business. Besides, even if flash worked on mobile devices, there would still be problems. Flash would demand too much CPU usage, be slow, and it would drain the battery’s life hellishly.

Flash websites do poorly with search engines.

This is because search engines can’t read their webpages’ content. This is a quick way to kill a website because there’s no way a website can survive online when it’s largely ignored by search engines.

Having a flash website means having a limited screen.

Today’s computer monitors come in a variety of sizes. Given that people seem to prefer bigger sizes, let’s use a 27" screen monitor as our example. This monitor comes with a high resolution – 2560x1600.

Viewing a flash website on a monitor with this high resolution would be as awkward as watching a black and white television (which long stopped existing). This is because flash websites are developed for a smaller resolution such as 1024x768. Your viewers would see a small website in the middle of the screen while surrounded by at least 75% of empty white space!

The links for flash websites are ridiculous.

The majority of flash websites have difficulty linking to specific pages within its own sites. It is torturous expecting visitors to remember a long URL.

Its pricey to maintain a flash website.

Because flash websites are uniquely built, only developers can update them. This means having to use a developer’s skillset every time you want to change your site. This differs from a CMS built website, which can be updated by its website owner.

Conclusion

It’s obvious that you’re better off without building a flash website. It can cost your business to suffer in its revenue while visitors are denied a good user experience. This is a bad mixture of business that’s easily preventable by avoiding flash altogether.

First Look at Microsoft Office 2013

2012-07-27T23:55:00.000+12:00

It’s been nearly three years since software giant Microsoft advanced us technically with their software. Now they’re back with the preview of their latest version: Microsoft Office 2013.

The Microsoft Office 2013, also commonly referred to as Office 2013, follows the Microsoft Office 2010. As of July 16, 2012, it’s available for download.

The updated version of Microsoft Office 2013 means enhanced features in the following capacities:

Revamped interface based on the Metro App
Additional capabilities with applications
Better integration with the cloud
Compatibility with tablets and touch devices

Here’s a breakdown of each of these enhancements:

Revamped Interface Based on the Metro App

The new interface for Microsoft Office 2013 is based on the Metro App – although it still runs on the desktop. Thus, expect a cleaner look minus the cluttered one associated with past user interfaces.

Additional Capabilities with Applications

Users who use PowerPoint to create presentations will now have more templates to choose from along with more transition effects. With the help of Bing’s image search function, graphics from the internet can now be easily inserted into PowerPoint. OneNote now allows you to capture screens and save them to your notebook. With automatic syncing to SkyDrive now being possible, OneNote is now accessible on other computers.

Excel has new a Quick Analysis tool. This new feature gives users suggestions on how to handle the data they’ve entered. For instance, Excel can suggest which chart will be best for your data, your formatting options, formulas you might be interested in inserting, and more. No more do you have to guess the right options for creating charts and tables – Office 2013 helps you!

Outlook’s Navigation Pane has been upgraded to take up less space in this latest Office version. Other improvements to Outlook include being able to search all folders and mail accounts in one single search. If you recall in previous Office versions, you had to search through all folders and mailboxes.

Microsoft Office 2013 enables you to peek at any of your Outlook features – thanks to the new "peek" feature installed in the navigation bar. Simply move your mouse over whatever you feature you want to view and a readable size of a thumbnail of what’s in it will appear. For example, if you move your mouse over an email, you can see what’s in it – minus it taking over the entire screen.

Word is essential in creating typed documents, and Office 13 only makes it even more so. This updated version of Word includes the ability to edit PDFs in Word – an impossible task in past versions of Word.

Microsoft even changed its Office Ribbon. The newest version looks flat with gray text on its command tabs. Clicking on the tab makes the text turn blue. Turned on by default, you can now make the Office Ribbon disappear. Simply click the full-screen icon, which is in the top upper right corner of the screen. Doing this leaves you with a screen showing only the content area – a plus for anyone easily distracted by Word’s interface.

Better Integration with the Cloud

Cloud users, rejoice. Similar to Windows 8, the Office 13 integrates with the cloud. After all, its new features are built around SkyDrive, Microsoft’s cloud-based storage service.

Direct links to SkyDrive are embedded in Microsoft Office 2013; thus, you can open any document on SkyDrive from inside any Office app with ease. Just as easily, you can save any document to SkyDrive.

It’s important to remember that files aren’t saved automatically from your local computer to SkyDrive. It’s up to you to save it on SkyDrive. Otherwise saving a document locally on your computer without saving it on SkyDrive disables you to open the document on another computer via SkyDrive.

Compatibility with Tablets and Touch Devices

Microsoft upped its effectiveness by making Microsoft Office 2013 usable to other electronic devices beyond the computer. Office 2013 is touch-enabled on phones and tablets. The only thing is the Office Ribbon must be in default (turned on) in order to touch commands.

When Office 2013 detects you’re in an area requiring text input, an on-screen keyboard will pop up. Don’t worry; this won’t be a nuisance. This screen only pops up at appropriate times.

Since Office 2013 has crossed over to other electronic devices, Microsoft decided to make it easier to view documents by creating Read Mode. With Read Mode, you can read horizontally – suitable for tablets.

The Availability of Microsoft Office 13

Microsoft Office 2013 is currently available only as a Customer Preview and is expected to be available late 2012 early 2013.

Overall, this is what you can expect from Microsoft Office 2013. With enhanced features that make our daily computing lives better, it’s basically a step in the right direction for Microsoft and most importantly, its daily users.

Ultra Fast Broadband in Wanganui

2012-07-15T23:37:00.002+12:00

Having recently used ultra-fast broadband at a clients in Napier I have been looking forward to Wanganui being one of the first to get it. Today I was surprised to see that our office will not get it for another two years. Likewise for a number of businesses in Wanganui. They have done the retail area of the CBD but not all the fringe areas like Bell Street and Wicksteed Street which have a lot of Legal, Accounting and Medical Practices which would probably be some of the higher users of UFB. Strangely my home will get fibre before these businesses which raises a few questions on the design to me as I would have done the complete CBD to encourage business into Wanganui before doing the residential areas.

Ultra-fast broadband finder

Update: The mapping data they use is not very accurate and if you search for your address by company name it can give you a different result to searching by street address. For example we are more than a block wrong when searching by company name so this is not using Google map data.

Making the jump to cloud

2012-07-10T20:18:00.000+12:00

The cloud is mightily hyped and there are more and more businesses wanting to make the move, often with little thought or interest in the risks. Before you follow the herd, here are a few things to consider.

We sell cloud-based applications and have first-hand experience of some of the pitfalls. In May we lost two of our servers at the same time, out of the blue, in a succession of failures. The first one was hosted by a US company who, as it turns out, was a cowboy outfit with no regard for customers. The second was hosted by a respected NZ data centre.

We run third party backup software on each of the servers, and ensure the backups go to a different location. The NZ based one worked perfectly, but the other server used a cheaper US provider and we found files missing from the backups.

This experience has taught us a number of lessons. As a result we have moved to a premium provider, Rackspace. While we do use their cloud file backups, we also use another solution to back up the data online to a NZ data centre. We have also added new technology for further monitoring. Our main lesson was: don’t rely on the data centre to protect your server or your data. We take data protection seriously, and run monthly test restores and daily checks, but problems can still occur.

Unfortunately you can’t stop disruption. However, before you make the move to the cloud it’s important to understand the potential risks and to be prepared for when disruption does occur. We use a SaaS application called EzPSA (Easy PSA) for our firm management / Service desk / CRM (full disclosure - I am a director). I feel confident knowing that it is on Rackspace, who provide 24/7 support, and that there is a backup of it stored in Auckland and also copied to Christchurch.

Looking to move to a remote desktop server (or Citrix) in the cloud is an option that can have value, but it can be a lot more expensive than other options. For example, this option would cost more over four years than leasing to own and running your infrastructure locally with online backup. If the cloud is an option you decide to take you’ll need a provider who gives 24/7 support. Test the support over the weekend to be sure you can rely on it.

Remember don’t be a sheep; your data is your business. Having a third party IT company like NZCS can help manage the risks and support your users.

Comparison in Cloud Storage Chatter

2012-05-12T12:40:00.001+12:00

A lot of internet users like to share and store photos, documents and videos using a remote Internet file hosting service, also known as cloud storage. As a result, the need for email attachments and flash drives are eliminated.

This even works well for anyone who has either a slow computer or connection; for they don’t have to wait for a file to download.

Also in regards to cloud storage, everyone is focused on the security it provides. This is important with so many computers being compromised.

Thus, given the overall popularity of cloud storage, I conducted some technical research on four cloud storage options: SpiderOak, Google Drive, Dropbox, and SugarSync.

Here was my finding for SpiderOak, the first cloud storage tested:

SpiderOak: Although it’s reported as one of the most secure online backup tools, I wasn’t entirely impressed with this application. This is because I found it to be fairly unstable. What made it worst for me was the fact that I found my data often wasn’t in sync. This is basically a technical app and the user interface lacked any mastery design.

Aside from this experiment, I don’t use SpiderOak anymore.

Instead the three applications I use are Google Drive, Dropbox, and SugarSync – all three which I tested.

Monitoring Traffic

As part of my experiment, I monitored the traffic of these applications while nothing was happening. It’s normal for these applications to phone home on a regular basis to see if anything is syncing.

In my opinion, having this occur more than once a minute is just too much occurrence. It would be better instead to have advance settings around this type of activity.

To prove my point of opinion consider this: if you’re primarily using cloud storage to have a second copy of your data instead of syncing it, then there’s really no need to keep the connection alive. In actuality, based on how many computers you sync, the software should be able to adjust automatically.

Since my laptop has 3G, I used it for testing as well as over Wi-Fi to see if there’s any difference in syncing. There was no difference found.

Here are my other findings in regards to these three cloud storage applications:

Google Drive : I do not hesitate to state that Google Drive is the worst for keeping a connection alive. It’s unclear as to why it needs to phone home so frequently when nothing is happening. All of its requests are sent securely over SSL.

Dropbox: This is the second chattiest cloud storage option. On the good side, however, it was only sending about one a minute. This seems more respectable and they’re sent as clear text over http. There’s nothing secretive about what Dropbox sends, so overall it makes sense to save an additional overhead of SSL. It does, however, use SSL while sending any of the important data.

SugarSync: This cloud storage is similar to Dropbox yet appears to phone home less often. These calls are made over SSL like Google Drive.

Memory Required to Run when Not Busy

At 35Mb, SugarSync used the least memory while Google Drive followed a close second with 37Mb. Dropbox required the most memory for running: 50Mb.

Uploading an 8Kb File

Of the three web-based file hosting services, Dropbox sent the fastest and the most traffic. Google Drive sent the slowest and least amount of data. While slow is oftentimes acquainted as being bad in the technology world, in this case, it’s not. Instead it simply means it’s less likely to cause complications with other applications competing with bandwidth. Nevertheless, it would be nice for it to have better quality of service and when there’s no competition against it, go as fast as possible.

Pausing Syncing

For those times when you’re either busy or changing several files multiple times, being capable of pausing syncing for bandwidth reduction is extremely useful. I like the fact that Google Drive doesn’t phone home if you pause it. Dropbox, on the other hand, continues to phone home, which I think isn’t necessary. I was unable to find an easy way to pause SugarSync, which in my opinion, is a shame.

Summary

In conclusion of my experiment, I still prefer Dropbox. However, I’d like to see some more smarts to minimize the footprint on my computer and connection. If you’re interested in integrating with their other offerings, then Google and Microsoft’s cloud storage makes sense. If, however, you’re an iPad or iPhone user, then Dropbox is by far the best option at this time in technology. I think it is important to note that I would not use any of these services for backup and there are better solutions that focus much better on online backup.

Microsoft’s Greatest Application: The Invention of the Snipping Tool

2012-04-21T10:04:00.001+12:00

Microsoft deserves an award for their best application invention to date, the Snipping Tool. It’s very useful in helping capture a screenshot or image intended for later use.

What is the Snipping Tool?
The Snipping Tool is an application that works as a screen capture tool. It allows computer users to take screenshots (commonly known as snips).

The Snipping Tool was originally released in November, 2002 as a power toy for the Tablet PC. Since then, it has been installed in Windows Vista, Windows 7, and the Experience Pack for Windows XP Tablet PC 2005 Edition.

The following snips can be taken:

Open window: Choose either a window or dialog box that you want to capture a screenshot of.
A free-form: Draw a free-form shape around any object.
Rectangular: Form a rectangle shape by dragging the cursor around an object.
An entire screen: Take a screenshot of an entire screen.

Besides the types of snips you can take, there are several other advantages to using the Snipping Tool.
For instance, after your snip is taken, it’s copied into the clipboard so you can then paste it straight into an email or document. Our clients often use it to show problems they are experiencing on their computer to make support easier for us to provide.

In addition, you have the option of saving, annotating, or sharing your snippet with others via an email. You can also either remove or change the outline’s ink color that was used in capturing the snip.
Snips can be saved in the following formats: PNG, GIF, JPEG, MHT

Overall, the Snipping Tool is a basic screen capture application that is actually very simple to use and I find a use for it on most days. While it may not impressively meet the features required by professional technology writers, your average, computer user will find very handy.

Online Crisis: How to Avoid Email Exposure

2012-04-05T17:16:00.000+12:00

I’m sure by now everyone has either heard or read about the online crisis that recently affected 1,000 New Zealanders: their personal and business email addresses were exposed – twice. This occurred when the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) notified online account holders about their failed credit cards.

The complete story is here.

This nightmarish situation is an avoidable one. If NZTA had taken the proper steps in preventing this entire crisis, 1,000 New Zealanders would have no reason for concern regarding their email addresses falling into deceitful hands.

The effort here is to avoid this online crisis from occurring again by explaining how to avoid online email exposure. We’re all entitled to our privacy and the following advice will help us maintain it.
For starters, businesses should make sure their staff has the proper training to use the BCC function in their company’s email program.

For anyone unfamiliar with “BCC” it stands for blind carbon copy. With BCC, you can send one message to multiple recipients without each recipient knowing who else received the same message. Here’s what each line in an email message represents:

To: List the address of the primary recipient here

Cc: This is the carbon copy to the secondary recipients. With CC, the recipients’ e-mail addresses are visible to everyone receiving the message.

Bcc: Blind carbon copy is mostly used when addressing a long list of recipients. This field is used to hide recipients’ email addresses from one another while receiving the same message.

NZTA failed to address their email messages properly.

This is so commonly done that it’s downright shameful. Not only is this a breach of privacy; it’s also a gateway for spammers and various markets to attack email addresses.

Instead of NZTA sending out these emails themselves, they should’ve used a proper bulk mailing service. Mailchimp is a recommended choice for handling mass emails. Their email marketing business is designed for this. Using their service would have made this situation less likely to occur.

Another huge mistake on NZTA’s part involved credit cards. It is important train staff to never request nor send credit card information via email. There are too many internet hackers just waiting for such easy access and this makes it easy for them to get it.

Despite the advancement of the internet, there are still several companies who lack a payment system on their website. As a result, they ask their clients to send their credit card information through an email.
Big mistake! I state this because emails are not secure in any way.

I know this firsthand after experiencing this exact situation from a travel agency while traveling overseas. Time difference made it difficult to contact me, so this was their solution regarding payment.
Rather than suggest clients submit their payments via emails, it’s much simpler and safer for a company to add a payment gateway with a secure page onto their website. Afterwards they simply add PayPal or DPS.

While this incident is a headache for 1,000 New Zealanders, it can also be a lesson to both companies and customers on how to secure their privacy. In the end, this can be a lesson well learned for all of us.