Facebook, Angry Birds blacklisted by employers

According to a survey recently released by Absolute Software Corporation, Facebook and Angry Birds are the two apps most blacklisted by businesses in the United States.  Interestingly, Facebook also shows up on the most whitelisted list.  This suggest that employers must play a delicate balance between the potential positives and negatives of a particular site.  Dropbox is another example of an app that has been on both lists.  Read the full story here.

Windows 8 First Look

With all the hype around Microsoft's imminent release of Windows 8, you might be wondering what we think of it.  Our techs have been testing a pre-release version for a few weeks now, and Vince Plaza, TeamLogic IT's Corporate VP of Technology, has been doing his own testing.

Here's what Vince has to say:

The latest version of Microsoft’s operating system, Windows 8, is almost here. A lot has been made of this release as many see this as Microsoft’s last real chance to gain relevance again in the IT world. No one is doubting that Windows is still the dominant desktop operating system, but with the extreme rapid growth of the mobile device market (smartphones and tablets) and with Microsoft being so far behind in that area, many have started to think that Apple and Google will be the major players in the future, not Microsoft.

With Windows 8, Microsoft has taken the all-in gamble to stake its claim to be one of those major players. Let’s take a look at how Microsoft has chosen to ante up and go big.

The Operating System Itself

Microsoft has come up with not one, not two, but three versions of Windows: Windows 8, Windows 8 RT, and Windows Phone 8. This is meant to allow for a unified user experience across the three major categories of devices:

• Desktops, laptops, ultrabooks, and convertible devices — These devices are meant to run “full blown” Windows (Windows 8) and run standard Windows applications, many of which have been created since Windows XP.
• Light weight and long battery life tablets — These devices are meant to run a “light” version of Windows (Windows 8 RT). Focused more on providing much better portability and long use, this operating system is not designed to run standard Windows applications. Instead, it will run versions of applications that were meant to run on this version of Windows.
• Smartphones — These devices require a much more streamlined operating system (Windows Phone 8), since they are much smaller than tablets and need to focus on providing ease of use on a small screen.

Windows 8 has taken a fairly radical turn from prior versions of the Windows operating system in that Microsoft has decided that the user interface has to be optimized for touch devices, such as tablets, smartphones, and new desktops/laptops/ultrabooks/convertibles that will have touchscreens. While this sounds like a good idea for mobile devices, some people think that this may not have been such a good idea for the desktops, laptops, etc. In full Windows 8, Microsoft makes the “Metro UI” (the original name for the touch/panel based interface they’ve designed) the default screen you see. You can get to the “old” Windows desktop easily, but it feels like Microsoft is forcing this new UI on users of non-touch devices.

But Wait, There’s More…

Perhaps the other major change that Microsoft is making with the rollout of Windows 8 is that they have decided to get into the hardware business. Traditionally, Microsoft stayed out of this area, leaving the design and creation of desktops, laptops, ultrabooks, and mobile devices to their OEM partners such as Dell, HP, Lenovo, Acer, Asus, Samsung, HTC, Motorola, and the like. But with Windows 8, Microsoft announced that they will be releasing their own tablet, known as the Surface. The Surface will come with either Windows 8 or Windows 8 RT, giving users the option of having a light weight, long battery life tablet or one that is slightly heavier, but more powerful and able to run full Windows applications.

Microsoft has also announced their intention to come out with their own smartphone down the road. This has caused some of their OEM partners to complain that Microsoft may be killing competition by jumping into this market. But Microsoft believes that this is going to be a critical part of their business in the future. Perhaps it’s not inappropriate to note that in this sense, Microsoft is moving in the same direction as Apple and Google.

Thoughts Before the Official Release

We are hopeful that Microsoft has a successful Windows 8 release. We think that it will spawn some interesting changes in the market, with more and more desktops, laptops, and ultrabooks being designed with touchscreens to allow users to take full advantage of the Windows 8 UI. The Microsoft Surface devices should force OEM partners to innovate in order to compete.

Microsoft’s push for Cloud-based services is also going to drive their mobile strategy. With Office 365, Skydrive, and other services, Microsoft is making access to all of the applications, storage, and other tools that one needs much easier through any type of device. And Windows 8 will play a key role in all of this.

Amazon Cloud Goes Down Again

Amazon's popular cloud service, EC2, went down yesterday and only started showing signs of life in the evening.  A number of popular websites were taken down, including Foursquare, Pinterest, and Airbnb.  It's not the first time the service has gone down, most recently back in June.  Here's a link to a New York Times article on the outage: http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/22/amazon-cloud-service-goes-down-and-takes-some-popular-web-sites-with-it/ .

The latest failure underscores issues you should be aware of with cloud computing.  Amazon's EC2 service offers attractively priced solutions, but if the service goes down, there's not much you can do until they bring it back up.  You can't call Amazon to find out what's going on or get personal support.  You just have to wait until service is restored.

Amazon isn't the only provider of cloud services, and some providers have better track records.  Some also provide 800 numbers you can call when you need help (don't expect a quick answer in the event of a site-wide outage, though).  And before you write of the idea of cloud computing entirely, consider the alternative.  Suppose you host your website on your own servers.  Is your internal network robust enough to prevent similar outages?  If your server goes down it probably won't make the national news, but the impact on your business could be just as severe.

If you're not sure whether cloud computing is right for you, give TeamLogic IT a call at 707-293-9525.  We can help you understand the alternatives and pick the best solution for your needs.

Microsoft Issues Urgent Security Patch

Did your Windows PC tell you today that you needed to reboot to install security patches?  Microsoft just released a critical security update for Internet Explorer.  The problem so severe that the German government issued a warning for people to stop using Internet Explorer until the patch was released.  Microsoft considered it serious enough that they released the patch immediately rather than waiting until the next scheduled "Patch Tuesday" in October.  Here's a link to more information: Microsoft releases urgent patch for Internet Explorer bug.

If your computer is configured to automatically accept new patches, then you will have already received a notice to reboot your computer.  Do so and you'll be OK.  If it isn't configured for automatic updates, you will need to install the patch manually.  Go to Control Panel, System and Security, Windows Update, Check for Updates, and select the critical update.  More information is available on the above link.

Finally! MS Office 2013 will let you open, edit, and save PDF documents

If you've ever been frustrated by how little ability Microsoft Office has to work with PDF documents, there is good news on the horizon.  Office 2013, expected to be released early next year, will include the ability for Word to open, edit, and save PDF documents, as well as several other open-source formats it hasn't previously supported.  Here's a link to a good summary of the new features:

Office to finally fully support ODF, Open XML, and PDF formats

"Home" vs. "Business" Computers

Several times a month I get calls from clients who need new computers and want my opinion of the deals they see in the ads from the local “big-box” stores.  They want to know if these “home” computers are just as good as business computers sold by Dell or HP.  After all, the prices quoted in the ads are often very attractive, and nobody wants to spend more than they need to on a computer.
 
Before giving them an answer, I first ask some questions about their needs.  If they are a small, one-or two-person business, a “home” computer may suit them just fine.  If they are part of a larger office with people who need to work together, it probably won’t.  There are at least four areas where a “home” computer will fall short:

·         It doesn’t come with the right version of Windows 7.  Home computers come with the “Windows 7 Home Premium” edition.  This is intended for single computers that work alone.  If your computer will be connected to an office network, you’ll need the “Windows 7 Professional” edition.  This adds about another $90 to the total cost.

·         It typically comes with a 1-year, return-to-factory warranty.  Can you afford to wait several weeks for your computer to be repaired?  Business-class computers typically come with a 3-year, next business day warranty.

·         The advertised price doesn’t include Microsoft Office.  If you want Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, you’ll need to add at least another $200.

·         It’s not designed to withstand the rigors of an office environment.  For example, one common point of failure is the computer’s power supply.  A business-class computer comes with a more robust power supply than the typical home computer.  There will also be differences in other components such as the hard drive and the motherboard.

The bottom line is that there is no single right answer for everyone.  At TeamLogic IT, our goal is to establish a relationship with you by ensuring that the hardware and software you buy today will meet your long-term business objectives. We also make sure you don't spend more than you need to spend, or under-buy and have to replace your equipment in a year or two. To learn more, contact the experts at TeamLogic IT at 707-293-9525.

Dropbox--How Secure is it for Businesses?

Do you use Dropbox for sharing files with others in your company?  If so, you might wonder how secure a tool it is for businesses.  With up to 2 GB of free cloud (online) storage and the ability to easily share files with others, it has a lot going for it.  And if that's not enough, you can subscribe to paid versions that can give you as much as 1 TB or more space.

But how secure is it?  This has become an important question with the recent announcement that Dropbox was hacked.  (See the story here.)  In addition, some Dropbox users have had individual accounts hacked because they used the same passwords for Dropbox they used for other sites.  Once these passwords were stolen from the other sites, hackers started using them to break into sites like Dropbox that used the same passwords.  Dropbox strongly encourages you to use different passwords for different sites.

But outside hackers aren't the only risk.  One potential issue has to do with the way permissions are assigned.  Let's suppose you create one Dropbox folder for your business associates and another for your accountant.  You don't want your business associates to be able to see financial data meant for your accountant.  If you've set up permissions properly this works fine, but it's easy to make a mistake and accidentally share files with people you don't want to.

Another issue is what happens when one of your business associates leaves your company?  You would like to immediately stop them from having any access to company data.  But this isn't as easy as you might think.  The way Dropbox is designed, it stores copies of shared files on each individual user's computer.  This makes it much faster to access the files and makes them available even if you aren't online.  But this means that if you delete the master copy from Dropbox it doesn't immediately get deleted from each individual computer.  People could have access to files long after they have left your company.  Something to keep in mind before sharing sensitive data.

Finally, if your files are subject to government regulations, think twice about using Dropbox.  It isn't, for example, HIPAA compliant, so don't use it to share medical files.

Dropbox can be very useful if you know its limitations, but it's not the total solution.  If you're not sure how to proceed, TeamLogic IT can help you choose the right solution for your needs.