Posts
Windows 10 vs Windows 11
In this insight, we compare and contrast the Windows 10 and 11 operating systems, focusing on how they perform in key areas like user interface, performance, security, compatibility, and cost.
Rolled Out 2021
Since Microsoft’s…
Headaches For MSPs As Microsoft Unbundles Teams
Microsoft’s announcement that it will sell its chat and video app Teams separately from its Office product globally is likely to cause considerable headaches for IT departments and managed service providers.
Why Unbundle?
Teams is…
Copilot Product Update – Some Pros And Cons
Following Microsoft’s recent announcement that it is expanding its Copilot product line-up to appeal to a larger range of businesses, we take a look at what this means and some of the stand-out pros and cons.
Copilot
In…
Microsoft Releases Copilot for Microsoft 365
Microsoft have released Copilot for Microsoft 365. This is a paid version of Copilot that sits in your existing Office apps and can significantly boost your productivity. The UK cost is £296.40 (+VAT) per year. Here’s how it can help.
Microsoft…
Microsoft Now More Valuable Than Apple
Worries about smartphone demand have been blamed for Microsoft’s stock market value ending a trading session higher than Apple’s last week for the first time since 2021.
How Much?
Microsoft adding 1 per cent to its stock value…
AI Key Added To Microsoft Keyboards
In the first change to Microsoft keyboards in 30 years, an AI key is to be added to Microsoft Windows 11 PC keyboards from February.
Copilot Key
In a move that Microsoft says will make “2024 the year of the AI PC” and…
Antitrust : OpenAI And Microsoft
Following the recent boardroom power struggle that led to the sacking and reinstatement of OpenAI boss Sam Altman, Microsoft’s relationship with OpenAI is now under US and UK antitrust scrutiny.
What Happened?
A recent boardroom…
Copilot Can Attend Meetings For You
Following trials, Microsoft’s AI assistant ‘Copilot’, which can even attend meetings for you, will be generally available to all Microsoft 365 Enterprise customers from 1 November.
Copilot
First introduced in March 2023 and rolled…
Microsoft Launches New AI Content Safety Service
Microsoft has announced the launch of Azure AI Content Safety, a new content moderation service that uses AI to detect and filter out offensive, harmful, or inappropriate user and AI-generated text or image content.
What Kind of Harmful…
Microsoft’s Green Concrete In Data Centres
As part of its commitment to be carbon negative by 2030, Microsoft is trialling cement containing microalgae-based limestone in its data centre builds.
The Issue For Microsoft
The main issue for Microsoft is that it needs to decarbonise…
EU Teams To Be Unbundled From 365
Following pressure resulting from a formal investigation by the European Commission over a possible breach of competition rules, Microsoft has announced that it will begin unbundling Teams from Office 365 and Microsoft 365 in European markets.
Antitrust…
Python in Excel … So What?
Following the announcement that Microsoft is releasing a public preview of Python in Excel, we look at what this will mean for Excel users and how it could help businesses.
What Is Python?
The initial version was created in the…
How ‘Copilot’ Can Help Your Business
In this tech insight, we take a look at what Microsoft 365 Copilot is, how it is being used, and how it can help your business.
What Is Copilot?
Introduced in March 2023, Microsoft 365 Copilot is an AI assistant that’s…
1.5 Million Seat NHS IT Support Deal
Microsoft and NHS England have announced the signing of new five-year contract whereby Microsoft (via a major reseller) will roll out the Microsoft 365 cloud-based online productivity suite to 1.5 million NHS staff.
Trusted Relationship…
Microsoft Miffed: Monumental Gaming Merger Muzzled by UK’s CMA
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has blocked Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of US-based video game holding company Activision Blizzard over fears of stifled competition in the cloud gaming market.
What Happened?
Back…
Microsoft Drops Twitter From Advertising Platform
Following Twitter’s announcement two months ago that it will be charging a minimum of $42,000 per month to enterprise users of its API, Microsoft is dropping Twitter from its advertising platform.
What Is The Microsoft Advertising…
Reduced OneDrive Cloud Storage
Changes to Microsoft 365 could mean less OneDrive cloud storage and could lead to Outlook being disrupted.
Change
In February, Microsoft announced that cloud storage used across Microsoft 365 apps and services would include Outlook.com…
Stopping SafeSearch From Being Too Safe
Following anecdotal reports that some users can’t turn off the strict SafeSearch settings when searching using Bing, we look at what SafeSearch is, and how to control it.
What Is SafeSearch?
SafeSearch is a setting in Microsoft’s…
OpenAI And Microsoft
OpenAI and Microsoft have announced that they are extending their partnership to work on more AI research and development.
What Is Open AI?
OpenAI is a San Franciso based research organisation/capped-profit company that develops…
Microsoft Tops List Of Best-Run Companies
Microsoft has retained the No.1 spot in Drucker Institute’s annual Management Top 250 ranking for the best-run companies in the U.S. for the third year in a row, while rankings for some other tech companies have slipped.
Top…
Re-Branding Means Microsoft Office Becomes Microsoft 365
After 30 years of Microsoft Office, a major re-branding will see it being re-named as Microsoft 365 as part of Microsoft’s expansion of its productivity suite.
What, Who, And How?
Microsoft has announced that starting in…
A Dozen Microsoft Products You May Not Know About
In this insight, we look at a dozen Microsoft products / apps that you may not know much about, but which could be helpful to your businesses.
1. MS Dynamics CRM. Microsoft’s Dynamics 365 a flexible, customisable pay as you…
First Update for Windows 11 : What Does It Include?
With the news that as of 20 September 2022, the new Windows 11 update started its rollout in 190+ countries, we look at what it includes and how these elements could benefit your business.
The Focus
Microsoft says that the new…
Calendly Vs Microsoft Bookings
In this insight, we take a brief look at Calendy contrasted against Microsoft Bookings and highlight some of the pros and cons of each.
Calendy
Founded in 2013, Calendy is a SaaS meeting and event scheduling app for website, Chrome…
Excel Collaboration Now Easier
Microsoft Excel’s new @mentions feature allows users to create, assign, and track tasks in a workbook, thereby making collaboration in Excel easier.
Added To Roadmap 2020
The @mentions feature, which was added to Excel for the…
What Is Microsoft Azure?
In this insight, we look at what Microsoft Azure is, plus what it offers businesses.
Azure
Microsoft Azure (formerly Windows Azure) is Microsoft’s public cloud computing platform. Public cloud refers to cloud computing services…
Windows Overflow Added To Taskbar
For those who have so many apps open that they run out of space on the taskbar, Microsoft is adding an overflow button where the excess ones can be accessed.
Overflow – Button With Three Dots
For those who need it (i.e. those…
Google Workspace vs Microsoft 365
In this article, we take a brief look at the relative merits of Office 365 compared to Google Workspace and how Google’s recent introduction of features and greater integration have been aimed at challenging Microsoft 365’s dominant position.
Google…
Internet Explorer is Dead. Long Live The King?
Microsoft’s Internet Explorer browser has been retired after 27 years and here we take a brief look back over its history and why it fell behind competitors before being succeeded by Microsoft Edge.
It Came From ‘Mosaic’
Microsoft…
New Microsoft Update ‘Enable’ Reactions In Outlook
With the next update, as part of Microsoft’s 365 roadmap, Outlook users will soon be able to ‘react’ to Outlook emails without sending or receiving incremental emails.
Like Emojis
The Microsoft ‘Reactions’ feature…
Survey Reveals 55% Of Devices Can’t Upgrade to Windows 11
A survey by IT asset management platform Lansweeper has revealed that 55 per cent of devices are not capable of upgrading to Windows 11.
Survey
The survey, based on an estimated 30 million Windows devices from 60,000 organisations,…
Microsoft Outlook’s Self-Updating Emails
As part of its roll-out of the collaborative working ‘Loop’ app, Microsoft has announced that included in its ‘365 Roadmap’, self-updating Loop elements can now be used in Outlook emails.
What Is Loop?
In November 2021, Microsoft…
How To Stay Focused Among The Chaos
In this insight, we look at some of the Microsoft Windows features that can be used to minimise distractions and help you to stay focused.
Minimise Interruptions, Stay Focused
Being able to stay focused during…
Microsoft Halts Sales In Russia
In response to the invasion of Ukraine, Microsoft has suspended all new sales of Microsoft products and services in Russia.
Other Aspects Of Its Business Too
Microsoft has described how it has been “horrified, angered…
Microsoft Delays Price Increases (For 2 Weeks)
Microsoft has announced that higher demand for cloud services resulting from home and hybrid working is the reason why it will delay its planned commercial price increases for Microsoft Office 365 and Microsoft 365.
Two…
How Microsoft Will Block Macros To Stop Malware
Microsoft recently announced that it will be blocking Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) macros by default as a way to stop the spread of malware. Since these macros are important automation tools for Microsoft Office apps, how is this going…
Facebook (Meta) To Integrate Workplace With Microsoft Teams
Facebook/Meta has announced that it is integrating Workplace with Microsoft’s collaboration app Teams to enable users to share information more easily between the two platforms.
What Is Workplace?
First announced in 2016, originally…
Microsoft Unveils ‘Loop’ Collaborative App
Microsoft has unveiled the new ‘Loop’ collaborative app which it describes as “a flexible canvas with portable components” designed for assisting with new hybrid working patterns.
Background
Microsoft says that the new…
Insiders Testing Android Apps On Windows 11
Microsoft has announced that the first preview of Android apps on Windows 11 is now available, albeit currently for Windows Insiders in the Beta Channel in the U.S. Others to follow.
50 Apps To Try
Microsoft says that it has partnered…
Tech News # 1 : Microsoft Price Hikes
Microsoft has announced that from March 1st 2022, it will increase the prices of its Microsoft 365 and Office 365 subscription plans.
How Much?
Microsoft says that the price rises, which could be as much as 25 percent, will affect its…
Tech News # 2 : Windows 11 May Not Work On Your Computer. But You Can Try!
A Microsoft recent update announcement about Windows 11 appears to say that although the new OS still won’t run on some older PC’s, Microsoft doesn’t plan to stop you from trying.
The Problem
When Microsoft’s June Windows 11 announcement…
Featured Article : New 365 “Cloud PC” From Microsoft
Microsoft has announced its new hybrid Windows 365 cloud service where the operating system is stored in Microsoft’s Cloud and which securely streams each user’s apps, data, and settings to personal or corporate devices, acting as…
New Lease of Life For Microsoft Paperclip ‘Clippy’
Following a vote of likes via Twitter and Instagram, Microsoft says it will be bringing back ‘Clippy’ the paperclip virtual assistant, but in as new, friendly-looking Emoji.
Clippy
From 1997 and until the mid-2000s, Microsoft Office…
Doesn’t Microsoft Back-Up Your Stuff? Er, No!
Recognising that Microsoft 365 does not comprehensively back up your data means that making sure that you have a third-party, “point-in-time” backup solution is an important consideration for your business.
Only For 30 Days
Microsoft…
Black is the New Blue, er, Screen of Death
Those who have tried the developer’s version of Microsoft’s new Windows 11 OS have reported that what used to be the ‘blue screen of death’ is now black.
What Is The Blue Screen of Death?
The so-called blue screen of death (BSoD)…
Windows 11 Launched
With the launch of Microsoft’s Windows 11 recently announced in an online event, we take a brief look at what’s new with this new OS, how it challenges Apple, and when it’s available.
Early Preview + Free Update
An early preview…
Microsoft and LinkedIn’s New Features To Help UK Jobseekers
With the pandemic fuelling job losses, new features from Microsoft’s LinkedIn platform could provide some help to the UK’s 1.7 million unemployed.
The Challenge
Many of LinkedIn’s users may now be facing the considerable challenge…
Liquid Cooling To Maintain Microsoft’s Data Centres
Huge demands on Microsoft’s data centre servers, partly driven by a surge in Microsoft Teams user numbers has led to the tech giant opting for liquid-immersion cooling.
The Challenge
Microsoft has recognised that it has now come up…
Live : Teams Transcriptions
Microsoft has announced the launch of an AI-powered live transcription tool for Teams which provides a written record of the spoken text that occurs during a meeting.
How It Works
The live transcription tool identifies each speaker and…
Practice PowerPoint Presentations Anywhere
Microsoft has announced that its PowerPoint Presenter Coach is now available on all platforms.
Presenter Coach
Presenter Coach, first introduced in PowerPoint for the web, helps the user to practice their presentation skills. The app…
Microsoft’s ‘Teams Connect’ Challenges Slack
New features for Microsoft’s Teams include cross-organisation channel sharing called ‘Teams Connect’ that has been likened to a very similar feature in Slack.
Announced at Ignite
At Microsoft’s ‘Ignite’ annual conference,…
‘Custom Neural Voice’ Available From Microsoft
Microsoft has announced the general availability of a one-of-a-kind customised, synthetic voice for brands, generated using Custom Neural Voice, the Text-to-Speech (TTS) feature of Speech in Azure Cognitive Services.
What Is It?
The…
Microsoft’s Password Manager Works Across Devices and Browsers
Microsoft has announced that its new Authenticator App will also work as a password manager which will allow passwords to be synced across desktop and mobile devices (iOS and Android) as well as Edge and Google Chrome browsers.
Free Authenticator
The…
Disposable Email Addresses For Office 365 Users
Microsoft is making its plus addressing, custom email feature available to all Office 365 users by adding it to Exchange Online.
What Is Plus Addressing?
Plus addressing allows a user to create their own custom, disposable return email…
AI Image Captioning Gives More Accurate Descriptions Than Humans
Microsoft has announced that in tests, its new, AI-based, automatic image captioning technology is better than humans at describing photos and images.
Part of Azure AI
The new automatic image captioning model is available via Microsoft’s…
Microsoft Ending Support For Flash
Microsoft has announced that it is ending support for the Adobe Flash Player on Microsoft Edge (new and legacy) and Internet Explorer 11 at the end of 2020.
Flash
Initially released in 1996, Adobe Flash Player is software for using content…
Remote Working and Office 365
Remote working during the pandemic has made businesses look more closely at what IT tools are best for the job. Here is a look at what Microsoft’s Office 365 has to offer.
Remote Working
ONS figures show that 53 per cent of those…
Try Using Microsoft ‘Surveys’ Function
With surveys, quizzes and polls providing some valuable insights that can be used for marketing and content creation, we look at and compare the survey solutions that Microsoft and others offer.
Surveys, Quizzes and Polls
Surveys, quizzes…
New Edge Browser To All Windows 10 Users
The new, improved version of Microsoft’s Edge browser has been launched in an update to all Windows 10 users in a move that will give Google’s Chrome some competition.
Available To Millions of Users
In being made available via update…
New Windows File Recovery Tool Resurrects Deleted Files
Microsoft’s own Windows File Recovery tool allows users to use a command line app to resurrect or restore a variety of file-types that may have been mistakenly deleted, formatted, or have become corrupt.
File Recovery
Microsoft’s…
Microsoft Adds Custom Backgrounds and Live Captions in Teams
Microsoft has added custom backgrounds and live captions to Teams in its latest move in the battle between video conferencing and collaborative working online platforms.
New Features in Teams
Following on from its original announcement…
Microsoft Teams User Numbers Up By 12 Million In A Week
Microsoft’s collaborative working platform ‘Teams’ is reported to have seen a massive 12 million user boost in one week as a result of remote-working through the coronavirus outbreak, and through Microsoft making the platform generally…
Want A Walkie-Talkie? Now You Can Use Your Phone and MS Teams
Microsoft has announced that it is introducing a “push-to-talk experience” to its ‘Teams’ collaborative platform that turns employee or company-owned smartphones and tablets into walkie-talkies.
No Crosstalk or Eavesdropping
The…
Life After End-of-Life For Windows 7 Updates
Pressure from die-hard and disgruntled Windows 7 users may have been a factor in Microsoft issuing a second update to its old Windows 7 Operating System, only two weeks after the official end-of-life date of Wednesday 14 January.
(Almost)…
New Phishing Tracker For Office 365
Microsoft is launching a new "campaign views" tool in Office 365 that is designed to offer greater protection from phishing attacks by enabling businesses to be able to spot the pattern of a phishing campaign over individual messages.
Context…
The Battle Between ‘Slack’ and ‘Teams’
With Microsoft’s announcement that it's Teams product has 20 million daily active users (and growing), sending Slack’s share price downwards (Slack has 12 million users), the battle is well underway in the $3.5 billion chat-based collaborative…
End of Life for Windows 7 14 January 2020
Microsoft’s Windows 7 Operating system, introduced in 2009 and only intended to upgrade windows in the wake of the much-disliked Windows Vista finally reaches its end of life date on 14 January 2020. Looking back, it was an unexpected success…
Microsoft Edge Gets Business Upgrade
Billed as “the browser and search engine for business”, Microsoft’s new Chromium-powered version of Edge (and now more serious competitor to Google’s Chrome) is set to be released in January with new business-focused capabilities.…
Microsoft Announces New, Integrated ‘Office’ Suite App For Mobile Devices
Microsoft has announced that it is working towards the launch of its ‘Office’ mobile app (currently only available in public preview) which integrates Word, Excel, and PowerPoint mobile apps into a single app.
The ‘Office’ Vision
Microsoft…
Microsoft Beats Amazon to $10 Billion AI Defence Contract for ‘Jedi’
After a long and difficult bidding process, Amazon has lost out to Microsoft in the battle to win a $10bn (£8bn) US Defence Department AI and Cloud computing contract.
For ‘Jedi’
The contract was for the Joint Enterprise Defence…
Why You May Be Cautious About Installing The Latest Windows 10 Update
Some of Microsoft’s enterprise-based customers may be feeling cautious about installing the latest Windows 10 update because Microsoft warns that it could stop the Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) service from running.
The…
Windows Virtual Desktop Generally Available Now
Microsoft has announced that its Windows Virtual Desktop is now generally available worldwide on Azure and will include Windows 7 free Extended Security Updates for up to three years.
Windows Virtual Desktop
Windows Virtual Desktop from…
Worldwide Rollout of ‘Personal Vault’ OneDrive Security Features
Microsoft has announced that the ‘Personal Vault’ security features for its OneDrive storage service are now available worldwide on all OneDrive consumer accounts.
What Is Personal Vault?
Personal Vault is a protected area in…
Microsoft’s Phone App Challenge to iMessage and FaceTime
Reports from online tech commentators indicate that Microsoft will soon be enhancing its Your Phone app with the ability to make phone calls from a desktop PC, thereby making the app a serious challenger to Apple’s iMessage and FaceTime.
The…
Goodbye Skype for Business, Hello Teams
Microsoft has announced that Skype for Business Online will be giving way to ‘Teams’, with support for Skype for Business already ended on 31 July 2021, and all new Microsoft 365 customers due to get Microsoft Teams by default from 1 September…
Microsoft Criticised By UK’s Cyber Security Agency Over Dmarc
The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has complained that it has been unable to compile meaningful statistics and draw meaningful conclusions about email security in its latest report because Microsoft stopped sending Dmarc…
Latest Windows 10 Update Causes Problems For VPN Enterprise Users
The latest update to Windows 10 could break the platform’s Remote Access Connection Manager (RASMAN) and, therefore, cause problems with VPN for Enterprise users with certain settings.
Potentially Millions
Given that the latest Windows…
New AI Feature For Microsoft Word Online To Improve Your Writing
The new ‘Ideas’ feature, an AI-powered editor in the cloud for Microsoft Word is intended to provide intelligent suggestions to make your writing more concise, readable, and inclusive.
Ideas
The new ‘Ideas’ feature, which is already…
No Windows 10 Updates For PCs With USB Devices or SD Cards Attached
Microsoft has announced that if your PC has a USB device or SD card attached it will not be possible to upgrade the computer to the Windows 10 May 2019 Update because of an “Inappropriate drive reassignment” issue.
The Scenario
On…
Microsoft 365 Business Subscription Customers Get Shared Computer Activation (SCA)
SMEs that need to have multiple users (connecting to and using the same remote computer) but only have a (less-expensive) Microsoft 365 Business subscription have been given a boost by Microsoft in the form expanded rights with the imminent…
Microsoft And Adobe Team Up To Fight Salesforce
Microsoft and Adobe are teaming up to make it easier for users of Adobe’s marketing software to find and target potential customers for business goods on Microsoft’s LinkedIn, thereby fighting their common competitor Salesforce.com Inc.
What…
Warning: Serious Windows 7 Bug Reported
Google has warned those who are still using Windows 7 that they are at risk of hackers being able to take over their computer by exploiting the combination of a flaw in the Window 7 OS and Google’s Chrome Browser.
Google Alert
The threat…
New, Free Windows 10 Microsoft Office App Launched
Microsoft
has announced the launch of its new “Office” app for Windows 10 which is an
update to the former My Office app, will come pre-installed on Windows 10 machines and will
provide access to an online version of Office for those who…
Windows 7 Activation Errors A Coincidence Says Microsoft
Just after the January update on 8th January, Windows 7 users began to experience activation errors, but Microsoft put the issues down to coincidence, despite admitting that it had reverted changes made to activation servers in the update in…
Hard of Hearing? Skype Offers Live Captions And Subtitles
On 3rd December, Skype announced that it was celebrating United Nations International Day of Persons with Disabilities by launching its new call captioning with live captions and subtitles feature.
Inclusivity & Accessibility
Skype says…
MFA Lockout For Microsoft & Azure Users Causes Business Disruption
The latest multi-factor authentication (MFA) issue left users of Azure and Microsoft Office 365 unable to login to their accounts on Monday 21st, causing widespread disruption to businesses in Europe, Asia, and some parts of the US.
What Happened?
According…
Microsoft Education For Dyslexics
In partnering with charity ‘Made by Dyslexia’, and in signing the Made by Dyslexia pledge, Microsoft has announced that it is the first company to sign a global pledge to help people with dyslexia.
Dyslexia
Dyslexia is a lifelong condition…
Windows 10 October Rollout Suspended Due To File Deleting Fault
The October rollout of the update to Windows 10 as part of the SaaS model has been suspended due to reports that some customers have experienced mass file deletions.
Eating Files
It has been reported that the rollout of version 1809 October…
Goodbye Skype Classic, Hello Blockchain-as-a-Service
Just as November will see Microsoft asking Skype users to switch from Skype Classic to version 8, tech commentators are predicting that Microsoft and other companies will be looking to start reaping the financial benefits of offering blockchain…
Microsoft Slows Updates
Microsoft has listened to corporate SaaS Windows 10 clients and slowed down the rate of patches and updates that it is sending out, thereby giving company admins more time to catch up.
What’s The Problem?
For many enterprise / corporate…
Microsoft Introduces AI Automated Audio and Video File Transcription
Microsoft’s new AI tool in OneDrive and SharePoint automatically transcribes the contents of video, audio, and image files, thereby making it much faster and easier to find specific topics and references made in those files.
No More Lengthy…
Microsoft To Launch App-Testing Sandbox ‘InPrivate Desktop’ Feature
It has been reported that Microsoft is to launch InPrivate Desktop for a future version of Windows 10, a kind of throwaway sandbox that gives Admins a secure way to operate one-time tests of any untrusted apps / software.
Like A Virtual Machine
Although…
Microsoft Launches Free Version of Collaborative Chat App ‘Teams’
Microsoft has announced the launch of a free version of its collaborative chat app ‘Teams’ which doesn’t require an Office 365 subscription.
What Is Teams?
Introduced back in November 2016, ‘Teams’ (as the name suggests) is a platform…
Microsoft Future Decoded Event
Microsoft held their annual Future Decoded event last week in London. This is where Microsoft tells the UK where they are expecting to go in the Future.
Keynote Highlights
They announced a new Surface Pro with integrated super-fast LTE phone…
Microsoft Vs. Apple: The Surface Showcase
Think of Microsoft ten years or so years ago and your mind’s eye will picture something completely different. A software giant, chugging along with its globe conquering Windows operating system and almost ubiquitous Office productivity suite. However,…
Why Office 365?
The Office 365 service consists of a number of products and services. Since it was released five years ago, Microsoft have been constantly revising and improving the applications. Office 365 is available in two subscription based editions;…
What to know when shopping for technology
There are so many devices on the market, it can be a challenge trying to choose the perfect one. Buying new technology is not the easiest and you want to make sure you’re making the right purchase.
Before you do anything, here are some important…
Microsoft open multiple Data Centres in the UK
Microsoft have announced the opening of multiple UK Data Centres. The aim is to allow customers to use their cloud services whilst knowing that their data remains in the country. The centres in London, Cardiff and Durham will host their range…