Microsoft
Outlook’s Slow Road To Syncing Signatures
At some point, possibly during our lifetimes, the Outlook desktop program for Windows will begin syncing email signatures through the cloud from one computer to another. This will be a wonderful thing that will alleviate one small pain point in setting up new computers.
But not today, not tomorrow, and apparently not this month, despite a flurry of excitement a few days ago when Microsoft announced a June rollout before apparently changing its mind. […] continued
Read moreDropbox Smart Sync Included With All Paid Plans
Dropbox Smart Sync is now included with all paid plans for individuals and businesses. It’s not a feature of Dropbox’s free account, but that plan is so limited that the lack of Smart Sync doesn’t matter.
Let’s take a minute to unpack that. This might be interesting for OneDrive users also, since OneDrive includes a similar feature (“Files On Demand”). […] continued
Read moreThe Outlook Search Bar Is Changing, Whether You Like It Or Not. (You Won’t Like It.)
If you use the Outlook desktop program for Windows, the search bar is going to change and move around and grow and grow and grow like a mutant chicken heart from an old horror movie. And just like the monster, you can’t stop it. (Cue spooky soundtrack music.)
Microsoft is changing the position of the search bar as part of a grand vision that expands Microsoft Search into a universal tool that encompasses web and enterprise data in addition to our own stuff, and uses AI to make our searches so smart that we get over our initial feelings of annoyance. […] continued
Read moreWhat’s Wrong With Office 365 Junk Mail Filtering?
Too many important messages are going into my Outlook Junk Email folder, and I can’t figure out why.
Seriously, I don’t know how to explain it. Several of my clients have mentioned that more messages lately are being incorrectly flagged as spam, and the mistakes seem obvious when I look at my own Junk Email folder. […] continued
Read moreHow To Turn Off The Dropbox Desktop App (And Why Is There A Desktop App, Anyway?)
Dropbox started as a drop-dead simple product for individuals: a folder on your computer that seamlessly syncs with the cloud so you can work with the identical folder on all your other computers. That’s it! That’s all there was to it. Ten years ago, that was revolutionary.
Last year, Dropbox introduced a new desktop app for PCs and Macs. […] continued
Read moreOutlook Tip: How To Turn Off “Top Results”
When you search your email in Outlook, you might see three messages chosen as “Top results” by sophisticated AI & machine learning algorithms.
Well, it’s supposed to be smart algorithms. At the moment, the three “Top results” appear to be chosen by a roomful of monkeys throwing dung at the screen. […] continued
Read moreWindows Tip: How To Stop The Disappearing Scroll Bar
Have you noticed that scroll bars in Windows 10 get squeezed to a thread or disappear? It’s one of those small annoyances that the authorities slip into our lives to keep us on edge so we can’t concentrate but we’re not sure why. Allegedly.
You’re working in a program and you need to scroll down, so you scoot the mouse to the right side of the window, but the scroll bar is this thin line, barely visible, a thread. […] continued
Read moreShooting Fish In A Barrel: Microsoft Is Rebranding Office 365
Shared communication is one of the underpinnings of civilization. It sets humans apart from animals.
Microsoft is engaged in a long-term effort to prevent us from being able to understand each other. I don’t know why. The company doesn’t appear to be run by a super-villain, but that would fit the facts. […] continued
Read moreCovid-19 Is Straining The Internet
Across the globe, hundreds of millions of people are using their Internet connection more intensely than they did just a few weeks ago. Usage ramped up so quickly that the infrastructure is being stretched past its limits.
I don’t have any tips. You don’t have to do anything differently. It’s just another interesting way that Covid-19 is turning our economy and culture upside down. […] continued
Read moreWindows Search Is Broken And It’s Bing’s Fault
Microsoft is mucking around with Windows Search. It might be better someday, although it’s not like anyone was screaming for changes. But hoo boy, is it obvious that the B team is working on Windows these days! Because Windows Search has been horribly broken for the last few weeks, and the whole process of changing it, breaking it, fixing it, making it worse, has all been shrouded in secrecy as things get worse and worse. […] continued
Read moreGoogle, Microsoft, And Unethical Behavior
Two weeks ago, Google changed its web search results to fool you into clicking on paid ads by mistake.
Last week Microsoft announced that an upcoming update for Office will force web searches in Chrome to go through Bing instead of Google – without consent and with no notice.
These are both terrible ideas, the kind of thing that erodes public trust and makes us understandably angry. […] continued
Read moreR.I.P. Windows 7
Windows 7 has passed on. It is no more. It has ceased to be. Windows 7 has expired and gone to meet its maker. It’s a stiff. Bereft of life, it rests in peace. It’s off the twig. It’s kicked the bucket, shuffled off its mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the choir invisible. […] continued
Read moreThe 2019 Bruceb News Year In Review
(This will be the last Bruceb News article until I recover from an upcoming business conference trip to Hawaii. Happy holidays!)
I think I accomplished two goals in 2019: writing articles about privacy and security that were so terrifying that they kept you awake at night; and making those articles so dull that they helped you sleep. […] continued
Read moreSay Goodbye To Outlook Clutter
On January 31, 2020, there won’t be any more clutter in Outlook. Oh, you’ll still get just as many unimportant messages as before, but they won’t be sorted into a Clutter folder. Instead, you’ll use Microsoft’s replacement, Focused Inbox, to read “Focused” and “Other” messages.
This only applies to a few people. […] continued
Read moreGrammar Are For Winners!
Need help with spelling and grammar? Of course you do!
You already get help with your spelling. Microsoft Word and Outlook automatically fix common errors on the fly as you type, and flag possible misspellings with the familiar wavy line. Your phone auto-corrects your errors, which of course works flawlessly.
Artificial intelligence now allows grammar to be checked just as easily as spelling – on the fly, with instant feedback. […] continued
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