June 6th, 2013
Windows 8 has been slowly gaining traction with businesses, and numerous companies have already upgraded, while others are seriously considering it. Those upgrading from older versions of Windows will find a drastically different operating system (OS), that may take a while to get used to. Because it's such a big change, new users may not know how to get the most out of the latest version.
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Google Drive, introduced in mid April 2012, has become a large part of the Google Apps suite for businesses. It's the platform that combines cloud storage with productivity apps and allows you to create, edit and share word processing, spreadsheets and presentations, etc. Hot on the heels of the desktop release was a mobile app. This originally had limited capabilities but has been consistently updated over the past year. The latest update released aims to make the mobile app even better.
Smartphones can be considered a must-have for any business owner or manager. The question many have is what phone is best? Most choose to go with either Android or Apple's iPhone and are generally happy with their choice. There is another option, Windows Phone, which could be a great choice for any business using Microsoft products. What's more, phones running the Windows Phone operating system are improving and enticing more users to jump ship from other more popular systems.
Love it or hate it, Facebook has become one of the most popular and arguably important communication tools for businesses and the socializing public alike. If you have a personal account, you likely log in on a fairly regular basis. But there may come a time when you forget your password or need to recover your account information. This may prove to be tough if you can't remember specific information. However, Facebook has recently introduced a feature that could help make account recovery easier.
Smartphones, like the Apple iPhone, rely on numerous factors to make them 'smart'. One of the most important being a data or Internet connection. Most iPhone users have a mobile plan with data, allowing you to access the Internet from anywhere. However, many providers limit the amount of data that can be used each month and charge exorbitantly high rates if you go over this monthly quota. The good news is though, there are things you can do to help get the most out of your data.
Computing power has more or less doubled every two years, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. While our computers are becoming increasingly powerful, it simply isn't feasible for many small to medium businesses to update their hardware or systems every couple of years. This often leads to businesses with aging systems facing increased costs, decreased productivity and the need (but not the budget!) to replace systems. One solution to this very real problem is to virtualize existing systems.
One of the greatest tech debates of this decade is Apple Vs. Google. For the most part, users are largely separated by mobile opinion - you see near constant debate over which is the better system (iOS or Android). This is funny, considering that many Apple users actually rely on Google apps like Search and Gmail. Google knows this and has been pushing new, previously Android only, services to iPhone and iPad users. The latest service introduced for Apple devices is Google Now. Do you know what it is?
Among the biggest technological trends of this past year are devices that are always connected to the Internet. Thanks to their convenience, these 'always on' devices look set to increase in popularity. The downside to this is that your accounts could be at risk of increased security threats. In an effort to curb this, tech giants have been introducing two-step verification. Microsoft is the most recent company to announce this, so it's early days and you may be wondering what exactly it is.
'It's here, it's here, it's kind of finally here' was a cry uttered by many a Google fan recently when Google announced that their augmented reality project Google Glass had begun shipping. In truth, the version of Glass released is actually the Explore edition, a limited release, which is aimed at early adopters and developers in the US. While there aren't many units available, the device has garnered attention worldwide, with many wondering and what it does and how it does it.
Windows Phone isn't the most popular mobile operating system on the market, and that is a bit of a shame, especially since it's a good, even a great system. And more users, businesses especially, are starting to realize this and some business owners or managers are looking into buying Windows Phones. The problem is, if you already have a smartphone, say an Android, it can be a bit of a challenge to make the switch over. Luckily Microsoft has recently released an app that makes this process easier.
