bruceb news

It’s supposed to be getting easier! After all, smartphones and tablets should be simple to use, right? iPhones and iPads are exposing hundreds of millions of people to Apple’s fabled ecosystem, and for years we’ve been told that everything is easy and intuitive in the Apple world. Meanwhile Windows 7 brings impressive advances in hardware support and security and stability to our computers.

Why does it seem like there are more complaints, not less?

I recommend an interesting article by Farhad Manjoo in Slate: 2011 Was A Terrible Year For Tech. Here are the key points:

“In 2011 nearly every gadget or service that I use on a regular basis picked up new features that made it more frustrating to deal with. […] continued

Microsoft Office 365 has been tremendously successful so far, certainly from a sales perspective (millions of subscriptions, although the exact number is kept under wraps), but more importantly it’s also been successful from a technical perspective. There has been no downtime for the last few months. My clients are ecstatic that I can set passwords not to expire. Smaller businesses are being migrated from the older Microsoft Online Services platform; my clients’ experiences have not been completely smooth but no data has been lost and support for minor glitches has been readily available. Life on Office 365 is good.

So although I’m going to describe a technical issue, it’s a fairly insignificant one that has affected less than a dozen people in my personal experience. […] continued

A few weeks ago Microsoft released a OneNote app optimized for iPads.

Long-time readers know about my fondness for OneNote, the program you’ve never heard of that’s included with every copy of Microsoft Office 2010, right alongside Word and Excel and Powerpoint. Here’s more information to get you oriented. To repeat: “The concept is simple: OneNote collects information on the fly from any source you can imagine, and helps you find it again later when you need it. That’s any information. OneNote can hold your grocery list as easily as your research or trial preparation.”

OneNote is designed for its notebooks to be stored online in Microsoft’s Skydrive service. […] continued

A few days before Christmas, Microsoft delivered the “Office 365 Integration Module for Small Business Server 2011 Essentials,” a long awaited add-in that integrates Microsoft’s new server software for very small offices with its hosted Office 365 service.

In some respects this is what SBS 2011 Essentials should have included all along, and the combination is a compelling choice for many very small offices considering their first onsite server or a replacement for an aging Small Business Server 2003 tower. You’ll find a full description of Small Business Server 2011 Essentials here:

• Overview
• Remote Access
• Backups

Separately, the two products are already compelling choices for small businesses. […] continued

LogMeIn has moved far ahead of its competitors for working with computers remotely. It introduced major changes to its product lineup a couple of days before Christmas – not a good time to get much attention but an appropriate time to deliver lovely presents, since the changes include new features that will be useful for many of you.

Let’s start with the basics.

COMPUTERS

LogMeIn provides a small bit of software that installs on your computer at home or the office. It’s tied to a LogMeIn account – an email address and a password. The basic program is free for connecting from one computer to another computer. […] continued

When Microsoft announced that it will provide free or cheap support for Windows and Office and common computer problems, it wasn’t a surprise for any IT consultant who’s been paying attention.

This is a look behind the scenes, some thoughts about the trends that are changing the landscape for IT consultants.

Four things are combining to recast the traditional roles for small business IT consultants.

• Technology is easier to deploy and maintain. In particular, cloud services have virtually no traditional costs for deployment or maintenance. There will be fewer and fewer on-premise server deployments as cloud solutions mature.

[…] continued

A few days ago Microsoft launched Answer Desk with little fanfare – no press release, just a new web site (www.answerdesk.com) offering live technical support for Windows and Office, plus PC tuneups, virus removal, and software training – 24×7, 365 days/year.

It might be your new best friend, it might disappear without a trace. Either way, it illustrates some interesting things about your changing relationship to technology and the evolving role of an IT consultant.

What is Microsoft Answer Desk?

When you start a session from the Answer Desk web site, Microsoft will connect you with an “Answer Tech” for free basic troubleshooting and diagnosis. […] continued

Western Digital is shipping the first device available in the US with Microsoft’s small business storage and backup software, Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials.

Microsoft has a gift for names, doesn’t it? It’s a little embarrassing to gush over a product that is brand new on the market and very appealing when it has a wince-inducing name like “Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials.” It is closely related to Microsoft’s other new small business server, the one named “Small Business Server 2011 Essentials.” Couldn’t this have been named “Storage Server 2011 Essentials”? That’s a nice name. Maybe it was taken. […] continued

I’m about two weeks into one of the more amazing experiences I’ve ever had with a computer. I don’t say that lightly; over the years I’ve had a lot of amazing experiences with computers and this really stands out.

On the other hand, there are a thousand reasons why you might not have the same experience. Before we’re done I’ll hedge this story with cautions and qualifications and defensive Ifs and Buts.

The story is this:

• About two weeks ago I installed Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11.5 Home Edition on my office computer.
• I speak into a microphone. The computer writes down what I say.

[…] continued

A new model of phone has been introduced roughly every day in 2011 but none of them have been very interesting.

Until now. Let’s take a look at three big developments in the phone world.

(Fair warning: I do not have any personal experience with any of these phones. They undoubtedly have quirks and limitations and exciting bits that might flavor your experience. Your mileage may vary; it’s all I can do to keep up with the product launches and press releases.)

Apple iPhone 4S

Apple’s new iPhone 4S is a collection of small changes, not big ones: a great camera, a voice-activated assistant named Siri (which apparently is really marvelous), and some welcome file syncing to make it easier to get photos and music on and off the phone. […] continued