Cortana
Amazon, Apple, And Ambience
Part 1: Ambient Computing – Buzzwords That Are Changing Your World
Part 2: Google Wants To Surround You With Invisible Assistants
Google, Amazon, and Apple are the only companies capable of surrounding us with connected networks of devices and services. Google hopes to become ubiquitous by extending Google Assistant everywhere. […] continued
Read moreLogging In To A PC With A Microsoft Account Is Overrated
With the collapse of the Microsoft consumer ecosystem, there are fewer reasons all the time to sign into Windows 10 with a personal Microsoft account. I’m finding I frequently set up new computers with classic local accounts and bypass Microsoft’s push to connect the computer to an online account.
Let’s talk a little bit about the pros and cons of logging into Windows with a personal Microsoft account. […] continued
Read moreThe Samsung Ecosystem: When Technology Is Driven By Jealousy
Samsung is a global electronics company with hundreds of thousands of employees. It is the world’s largest information technology company, consumer electronics maker and chipmaker by revenue. Samsung sells more smartphones than any other manufacturer by a large margin.
(You think Apple is number two in smartphone sales, and you’re a bit surprised it’s not number one, right? […] continued
Read moreThe Microsoft Ecosystem: Evolution And Extinction
Microsoft does not have an ecosystem for consumers or small businesses in 2018. There is very little synergy between Microsoft products and almost nothing locks us into Microsoft products when we move from one category to another.
It makes old-timers sad to think of the past, because Microsoft had a successful ecosystem for decades. […] continued
Read moreTalk To Your Computer: Speech Recognition In Windows 10 And Office
Microsoft has quietly improved the speech recognition features in Windows 10 and in the Office programs. They’re still not great but you might want to give them a try if you haven’t talked to your computer in a while.
One fundamental truth has not changed: If you are serious about dictating on a computer, there is no alternative to the Dragon Naturally Speaking products. […] continued
Read moreHow Microsoft Became Uncool And Lost Touch With Consumers
There was a time when Windows was cool. A long time ago, people lined up to get new versions of Windows when they went on sale. Maybe not quite the numbers of people outside of Apple stores at the height of iPhone madness, but still – Microsoft was pretty cool.
When the iPhone was released in 2007, Microsoft began its long decline with consumers. […] continued
Read moreMicrosoft Is Moving Past Windows
If you’re an individual or small business Windows user, you might have the wrong idea about how Microsoft is doing.
We all tend to generalize from our own experiences. You can be forgiven for thinking that Microsoft’s future is dim when Outlook has just crashed or you’re paralyzed by an unexpected and unwelcome Windows update. […] continued
Read moreYou Might Not Want To Know How Much Google Knows About You
You have a vague idea that Google knows a lot about you.
You’re right.
Google has nothing to hide. It’s prepared to show you everything it has collected about you.
Are you sure you want to know? It’s a bit . . . creepy.
A few months ago Google created a tool named “My Activity” that gathers all its personal information about you into one place. […] continued
Read moreWhat You Need To Know About Windows 10 Anniversary Update
Microsoft released the Anniversary Update for Windows 10 on Tuesday. Your Windows 10 computers will be automatically updated. Eventually.
Here’s what you need to know.
• What is the Anniversary Update?
• When will you get the Anniversary Update?
• What’s new in the Anniversary Update?
• Are there any snarky examples of things that look stupid? […] continued
Read moreMicrosoft, LinkedIn, And Identity Management
(Warning: this article gets pretty geeky by the end. Feel free to look away. I’ll try to make the next article about a Dancing Kitten app or something.)
Last week Microsoft agreed to pay $26.2 billion cash to acquire LinkedIn. It’s one of the largest technology industry deals in history. It dwarfs Microsoft’s previous big acquisitions of Skype, Nokia and aQuantive. […] continued
Read moreMicrosoft Edge Is Windows 10’s Biggest Mistake
Microsoft Edge is the web browser that Microsoft developed to replace Internet Explorer. When you upgrade to Windows 10, Edge is set as the default browser, regardless of your previous settings. It is also set as the default program to open PDFs, even if you were using Adobe Acrobat or some other program designed for PDFs. […] continued
Read moreTen Ways To Make Windows 10 More Lovable
Finally! Next week, you’ll do your backups and you’ll upgrade to Windows 10 and everything will go smoothly and you’ll log in and everything will work perfectly and you’ll love it. It’s absolutely guaranteed – subject to my Standard Disclaimer, of course.
Here are ten ways to make Windows 10 more lovable. […] continued
Read moreWhat’s New In Windows 10?
The worldwide Windows 10 rollout has been proceeding for two weeks. Before long some of you are going to be notified that your free upgrade is available for the taking. Time to get ready!
There are three questions to talk about.
• What’s new in Windows 10?
• Should you upgrade to Windows 10? […] continued
Read moreWindows 10 And The Evolution Of Personal Technology (Now With Holograms!)
Microsoft demonstrated many of the new features in Windows 10 at a press event yesterday, beginning a campaign to drum up excitement for the relaunch of Windows on computers, tablets and phones this fall.
It was an exciting event for tech enthusiasts. Don’t count out Microsoft! It is engaged in a long project to redesign Windows and integrate your experience across all your devices, trying to stay dominant on the desktop and become relevant in the mobile world. […] continued
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