Confessions of a Windows Fanboy

I think everybody who has read a few of my blog entries here knows that I’m a bit of a Windows Fanboy. If you didn’t then you do now. That being said I own an iPad, I used to own an Android powered HTC Desire and I previously owned a Windows Phone 7 handset so I think I have a pretty broad experience. Of course, there was always very little chance that I wasn’t going to like this phone. I mean seriously, I have been drooling over pictures of this phone for months. Not to mention the fact that I have read almost every piece of literature available on it so I was always going to have a pretty good idea of what I was in for when I got it. Now that we’ve said all that, let’s get down to it.

Review For People On The Go

I like it.

Review Proper

The Good

Let’s start out with the things I like about this phone. The first thing you notice about the Lumia 920 is the screen. It is big and it is beautiful. The colours are bright and crisp and the 4.5″ screen is great for actually using your phone for things like email or web browsing. Thanks to the 920′s snazzy new Snapdragon processor everything flows very smoothly across said big screen. I mean incredibly smoothly. There is no lag, no waiting. Just pick what you want and go for it. It has long been that the Windows Phone operating system is the fastest of all the next generation smart phones the Lumia 920 gives me no reason to doubt this. Of course I have only had the phone for a week so this may change over time but so far I have had no problems and it isn’t for a lack of looking. I have installed far more applications than I need in an attempt to slow the system down but to no avail.

The big draw card behind any smart phone is the applications that are available for it. Windows Phone doesn’t yet have the market share of Android or iPhone and as such it doesn’t have the same amount of apps written for it. This has the potential to start a vicious cycle so in an attempt to stop this Nokia and Microsoft have written some very nice, exclusive apps. There are far too many to touch on here but I think special mention needs to be made of Nokia Drive – a GPS navigation app, Nokia City Lens – a very cool augmented reality app that uses the phone’s camera as a means of pointing out nearby places you might like to visit, and the Microsoft Office Suite which is fairly self-explanatory. I have found being able to read Microsoft Office documents very handy when I am out and about. It makes my email all the more useful because I can read almost any and all attachments. I also love the way that Office ties in with my Skydrive. If you don’t know what Skydrive is, it is basically storage on your phone that can synchronise with online storage as well as any other device you have Skydrive installed on. It allows you to save a document on one computer and open it on your phone or iPad or laptop. In short, it is brilliant. If you are familiar with Dropbox or Google Drive then it’s basically Microsoft’s version of the same thing.

For most business people, the most used feature of this phone (even more than the actual phone functionality itself) is probably going to be email. The built-in email client is quite good and setup is just as easy as any other phone on the market. So easy in fact that it almost doesn’t warranty talking about. Setting up email on my phone was literally so easy that I got a small shock when I started receiving email. It felt like I had missed a step somewhere but there were my emails. Staring at me as if to complain that I hadn’t replied to them all yet.

No review of the 920 would be complete without talking about the camera. This is one of if the the main selling feature of the camera and like almost everything else about the phone it is very nice. The camera is actually mounted on springs to help stabilise those shaky hands and there is inbuilt image stability software just in case the springs aren’t enough. By far my favourite feature however is the ability to adjust focus.

A photo taken while focusing the camera in the distance.

A shot taken with the same camera at the same time but this time focusing on my wallet.

As you can see it makes a big difference.

The Bad

Well, I guess I have to point out that this phone isn’t flawless. There have been some minor gripes about the phone being too slippery which causes people to drop it. I haven’t noticed this myself but there are one or two things I found a little frustrating. Of course, the lack of apps is a little bit annoying. When I get a new gadget the first thing I want to do is play with it. I don’t really care what I am doing specifically, I just want to be doing something with my new toy. This becomes a little difficult when the phone is very limited in its customisability and there are comparatively few apps to download and play with. Don’t get me wrong, there are hundreds of thousands of apps in the app store but they aren’t all necessarily any good. I know all of the phone manufacturers love talking about how many different apps you can run on their phones but the truth of the matter is it’s not quantity but quality that counts and almost every good app comes out for iOS and Android but not necessarily Windows Phone. It’s not a disaster but it is annoying.

The real gripe I have is the battery. I still plan to do more testing but so far I have found the battery to be a little disappointing. Before I got my 920 I read a review that raved about how great the battery life was and indeed if you turn off unnecessary services like cellular data when you aren’t using them the battery does a good job. If however you decide you want to play a game on your phone you can almost watch the battery life drain away before your eyes. Some people have resorted to resetting their phones which has given them some relief and I have done some testing with a benchmarking program and while my battery seems to be doing much better than it was, it’s not amazing. One thing that everybody mentioned about the phone was how big and heavy it is. I didn’t find it over the top myself but I had thought that the extra size and weight was to allow for it to work longer. Sadly I was mistaken. I wouldn’t say it is any worse than an iPhone 5 for example but it’s certainly no better.

Conclusion

Ultimately, I love this phone. It’s fast, it’s easy to use and it is designed for business. The battery problem is nothing new for smart phones and I truly believe the lack of apps will sort itself out eventually. While I always recommend people talk to their IT professional if they want advice on what phone is best suited to their needs, I would have no trouble recommending the Nokia Lumia 920 to people.

Until next time,
Enjoy IT.
Luke Venables
blogger@freshmethod.com.au

What is SharePoint?

According to Microsoft
 

“Microsoft SharePoint… makes it easier for people to work together.  Using SharePoint… your people can set up Web sites to share information with others, manage documents from start to finish, and publish reports to help everyone make better decisions.”

 
Basically, SharePoint is designed to make your office more efficient.  There are several ways in which it does this, as we will see.  It is a very powerful tool for businesses and can grow with your company to enhance not just the way you store and manipulate your data, but your internal business processes as well.  It’s really quite amazing.

The difference between you and I and everyone else

When it comes to your company’s files, everyone sees them differently.  When the IT department looks at a company’s data they might see a collection of word documents, some excel spread sheets and a few PDF files, but when the sales department looks at the files, they might see a collection of client contracts, sales projections and product flyers.  Both points of view are correct in their own way, but it means there is a gap in how we speak.  What if Bob’s Hedge Trimming has a maintenance contract?  Do we save it under contracts or under Bob’s Hedge Trimming?  Where do we look when we’re trying to find a similar file that someone else has created?  It can all get very messy.  SharePoint not only gives you a way of resolving this issue but more complex ones as well.  My good friend and fellow blogger Ryan Mayhead likes to use the following example:
 

In traditional files and folders. its easy for you to get the current contracts for Client A. You Browse to your company shared drive, then to clients, Client A, Contracts, Current.  Quick and simple.  Now imagine trying to find the current contracts for Clients A through Z.  Not so quick.  How about finding all of the contracts that expire before June regardless of client? How about all the contracts signed by John Doe.

 
As you can see, managing your data can quickly become a very cumbersome task unless, of course, you have some way of managing processes like this.  Well thankfully this is SharePoint’s bread and butter.  Using something called Meta Tags, if you get yourself setup correctly then even the most complex search can be just a mouse click away.  How neat is that?

Information isn’t always stored in files

When trying to find out where companies keep their most valuable data, it is interesting to see just how many people underestimate the importance of information stored in places other than Word documents and PDFs.  The most obvious example of what I mean is, of course, emails and Outlook contacts.  Many companies long for a way to share contacts between employees or to make emails easily accessible to anyone in the office.  Well, SharePoint has the amazing ability to interface directly with Outlook and take care of all of those pesky sharing needs.  It saves on space and reduces doubling up of work.

What else can it do?

One of the things I like about SharePoint is how multifaceted it is.  Just being able to organise your information is pretty impressive in itself. But now that you have a way of organising those contracts, what do you do when they are submitted?  Perhaps you want to receive an alert when a new contract is signed and uploaded.  SharePoint has the ability to trigger workflows to do any number of things.  Microsoft seems to understand that information is only useful if it is in the hands of the right people at the right time, and by using workflows you can automate processes that ensure everyone gets the information they need. Of course, SharePoint comes with all of the security features one would expect of a commercial grade product, giving the right people access to the right information and nothing more.

To say that this article discusses anywhere near everything SharePoint can do would be an injustice.  It is such a powerful tool.  Microsoft holds SharePoint conferences that can last a whole week so it would be silly of me to try to capture everything in one blog post.  What I would like to do is let people know the product exists and it’s basic intent.  I personally believe SharePoint is one of Microsoft’s best products and it never ceases to amaze me just how many people do not know it exists.  As always, the most important thing any business person can do is ask.  Give your IT support a call and see how products like this can make your life easier and your business more efficient.

Until next time,
Enjoy IT
Luke Venables
blogger@freshmethod.com.au

Good vs Fast vs Cheap

An old friend of mine used to have a saying.  If you want something good it is never fast or cheap, if you want something cheap it is never fast or good and if you want something fast it is never cheap or good.  This isn’t exactly true with computers but when purchasing a new system these three things are pretty important factors.  Everybody wants a fast, “good” computer for the right price.  The thing is that fast, good and cheap are all relative terms.  The first question everyone in the market for a new PC needs to consider is what it’s intended purpose will be.  If the PC is used for basic word processing there is no point in purchasing the latest and greatest in graphics processing.  And of course these things have an effect on price.  When it comes to trying to get the right price however there is one things that you probably don’t want to cut back on and that is the amount of RAM (memory) you get.  Each Microsoft operating system comes with certain minimum specifications.  It is important to know that these specifications are not enough for a business computer.  Even if the computer runs well when you first purchase it, as updates come and you install more software the requirements to keep your computer running smoothly get more intense.  You can increase the amount of RAM you have later but you can save yourself the trouble and frustration of a slow computer by getting a little extra memory up front.

What is the best brand of computer?

When people are asking for a recommendation the first question they always ask is which brand of computer is the safest bet.  Many people also have a story about a particular brand of computer that let them down once before making them swear off them forever.  It’s important to know that any computer can have problems.  There is no brand that has the patent on being brilliant.  Sadly, computer faults are synonymous with computers.  What is important is what happens after you have a problem.  It’s all about the warranty.  I recommend people look for an On Site warranty.  The alternative is the Back To Base warranty which means you have to send your computer away to get it repaired.  This can take quite a while and you have no computer while it’s away.  Most brands have different types of warranty so make sure you ask.  You will probably find what you’re looking for.

Purchasing the right software

A few weeks ago we talked about the differences between Windows 8 Pro and RT.  If you didn’t catch it (then you should) then the main thing is to ensure you get the business version.  Windows Home, is designed for homes.  Windows Business or Pro is designed for business life.  It enables you to do so many more things that are important in business networks such as connecting to network drives easily.  Trying to make Windows Home work in the business world can be a nightmare and is always a disappointment.  The same goes for the different versions of Microsoft Office.

I have to say I love the fact that everybody is becoming more comfortable with their IT.  This is because one of the things that makes life easier for us IT guys is when people are comfortable with the systems we are trying to help out with.  Often we are working with programs and processes that you, the user, is much more experienced with so (even though I know this is going to sound cliché) by working together the answers become so much easier to find.

Until next time,
Enjoy IT.
Luke Venables
blogger@freshmethod.com.au

What is SBS?

Making the decision to move your business onto its first server is not always a small one.  For the bigger businesses out there it may be obvious but for some smaller start-ups and businesses that have grown from perhaps a single user or two it is a big step.  Many small businesses still look at their IT as almost a one-off expense rather than an ongoing business investment and moving to a server-based environment is the beginning of a change in this thinking.   SBS has always been a way to soften the financial impact of this paradigm shift.  It includes several different Microsoft products that are useful to small businesses at a severely reduced rate and all in the one tidy package.  It can manage your company’s emails, its intranet and control your user’s logins and profiles.  It is also quick and easy to deploy which is what made it so very appealing to its target audience.  So why would Microsoft get rid of such a popular and useful product?  Simple.  The cloud has rendered the need for small businesses to host these services in-house unnecessary in Microsoft’s opinion.  Why would you want to host your email in-house when you could just pay a small monthly fee to have it hosted in the cloud?  Why would you want to have your company’s internal website hosted locally when you can have someone do it remotely?  Besides, moving to the cloud is the thing to do right?  Well not according to everyone.

Why are people so unhappy?

Not everyone is pleased with Microsoft’s decision.  Many disgruntled SBS users see this as a power play by Microsoft to try to force people to their Office 365 platform which is basically all of the services provided by Microsoft SBS hosted in the cloud for a monthly fee.  The idea of this upsets people.  Many users are concerned with the security of the cloud and have internet that is too slow to use it effectively.  Many also object to the feeling of being forced onto a product they know little or nothing about.  There are even reports of businesses being so unhappy they are petitioning their IT support providers for alternate, non-Microsoft based solutions to their server needs but with Microsoft’s almost total monopoly of the SBS market, alternate solutions are not easy to come by.

Is this a good thing?

Almost daily I hear one of my IT friends complaining about Microsoft SBS.  It does have some inherent attributes that are very unpopular with IT professionals.  This alone is not enough of a reason to drop the product altogether however I can understand where Microsoft is coming from.  They have two products that essentially do the same job for the same people.  Why would you spend money and resources making the same thing twice if all those products do is split your market?  What business person among us could say they too would not try to consolidate them into one?  But what about people’s concerns?  In my line of work I talk to people about the cloud a lot.  Many people have not yet made the move and many of those people have no intention of doing so in the near future.  In my experience, the biggest concern people have by far is security.  I find this to be an interesting concern as it has several components.  When worrying about data security you need to think about protecting it from unauthorised access, protecting it from physical factors such as fire or flood and also from inaccessibility.  After all, what good is your data if you can’t access it yourself?  In my opinion, if you are concerned about any of these factors then you should be considering the cloud, not shying away from it.

1) Unauthorised Access: When people think about unauthorised access they usually think “hackers”.  While statistically speaking this is very unlikely to happen, it is still something to think about.  The thing is that most (if not all) managed services providers have already thought about it and chances are the intrusion prevention in place in their data centre is far better equipped to handle unwanted attempts to access your data better than the router in your office.

2) Physical Security: This is another factor that cloud providers have to think about as well.  If you’ve ever been to a data centre you will know that they are usually in places that don’t flood, have excellent fire prevention measures, all of the servers are locked away in cabinets and they are extremely well protected from overheating by the multiple, high-powered air conditioners.  Once again, this is far beyond what most small offices have.

and lastly,

3) Inaccessibility: An oft used argument is what if the internet goes down at my office?  How will I access my data?  Yes it is true.  The internet sometimes goes down at your office.  Sometimes for days on end.  Many people mistakenly believe this means you cannot work for this entire length of time.  If you have a cloud based environment, most people can get going again by using a cellular data connection such as 4G and the biggest benefit is that your customers won’t be getting all of their emails rejected.  To them it’s as though you don’t have a problem at all.  If your infrastructure is hosted on site then sadly there isn’t much you can do with your email until you get your internet running again.  Of course, if your internet is down at the office there is always the option of working from home.

As I mentioned earlier, many people are also concerned about the speed of their internet.  For many Australians it simply isn’t fast enough or the files they use are too big to really make effective use of cloud technology.  This is why Freshmethod has developed a hybrid cloud solution that makes use of the best of both worlds.  The finer details are probably beyond the scope of this blog post but it is definitely something worth asking about if you are considering making a move.

While the end of the SBS line of products is something that is causing concern for many people, ultimately I think it is the way things had to go eventually.  Moving to the cloud is something that can seem scary at first but I truly believe that eventually it is going to be almost as common as the internet itself.  It is simply a matter of asking the right questions of the right people at the right time and for many that time is now.

Until next time,
Enjoy IT
Luke Venables
blogger@freshmethod.com.au

What is EoC?

EoC is a lesser known type of Internet connection that is gaining popularity among businesses due to its increased speed and reliability.  Without EoC if a company wanted to really step up its Internet connection speed it might have to look at something like a fibre optic Internet connection.  This is a fantastic solution provided you have the budget for it.  Yes, when the NBN becomes available getting a fibre connection will be very affordable but there is a reason it is costing billions of dollars to install.  It is quite advanced technology and this means it is very expensive.  Prohibitively so in most cases.  Where fibre optic Internet uses cables made of glass tubes, EoC uses twisted copper telephone wires.  Although copper is not known for being a cheap material, it does have the distinct advantage of being already installed to most locations dramatically decreasing the cost and making it a more realistic option.

Connection Speeds

When we are discussing the subject of internet connection speeds there actually two separate speeds we need to talk about; the download speed and the upload speed.  The download speed of a connection is how quickly it can transfer data from across the Internet to your computer.  For example, if you go to the Brisbane City Council’s website and open a PDF, that file will be downloaded from their server to your computer and how long this takes is dependant on your download speed.  By contrast, the upload speed of a connection describes how quickly data can be transferred in the opposite direction so if you then wanted to save that PDF into your company’s private cloud storage site, the time it takes would rely on your internet connection’s upload speed.  In days gone by, upload speeds were far less important than download speeds.  This is due to the way the Internet was used.  It’s primary purpose was to view information in the form of webpages. This process goes basically like this.  Your computer uploads a small request to a web server asking to view the website.  It then downloads the website which is almost always much bigger than the initial request so you can see how it was more important to have a good download speed than it was to have a good upload speed.  In today’s always online, cloud focused society we are using the Internet very differently.  We are remotely controlling our computers and constantly sending and receiving large files which means we need to be able to transfer data in both directions, quickly.  EoC has the ability to give you the same up speed as your down speed.  This means that while you are waiting for the NBN you have a real option that allows your business to look at technology options like moving your data to the cloud.  Like standard ADSL connections, EoC speeds and availability depend on several factors including how far away your business is located from the telephone exchange.  Sadly this means it is not an option for everyone.

Although EoC might not be an option for all businesses, when looking for an Internet connection that can take your business to the next level the important thing is to ask.  Internet connections have become so commonplace in our society that it is easy to just assume that no expert advice is necessary or even available.  After all, it’s just an internet connection, we sign up to them at home all the time.  The truth however is that technology always advancing at the rate it tends to you never know what your IT professional may be able to suggest that can really give your business a competitive edge.

Until next time,
Enjoy IT
Luke Venables
blogger@freshmethod.com.au

What do you mean different versions?

I have to admit I do find the need for multiple different versions of software releases to be somewhat paradoxical. When a new version of something is released the developing company actually spends time and money to dumb it down and then, after sinking all of these extra resources into the extra versus, they sell it for less. Surely, if you spend more developing a special version of your product, you then sell that product for more, right? Well, as it turns out, no. The new version that took so much more effort is actually sold for less. As I said, paradoxical. The important point is that there are versions of Windows that don’t have all of the features. Some of these features are critical, for business use. This makes choosing the right version of Windows vital as well.

What version of Windows do I need?

Windows 8 will come in four different flavours. This is less than previous versions already but even better than this, most consumers will really only have to choose between three. One version is for enterprise customers only so this will be purchased by IT professionals. The next two versions are the standard Home and Professional ones. Obviously, the home version is the toned down release I mentioned earlier. It is missing essential features for business. Features that allow you to easily connect to the network drives on your company’s server or manage users. In short it is great for home users, not so good for businesses. The last release is a special version just for running on special hardware. This version is called Windows RT and will not be available on its own. It can only be purchased pre-installed on a device. These devices will be PCs like the Microsoft Surface PC. Once again this is a cut down version and it is the version that will be used to lure customers in with its lower price. Personally I think the biggest benefit of the Surface PC is the fact that it is a laptop and a tablet all in one. Running a cut down version of Windows just seems to defeat that purpose.

How bad is it if I get the wrong version?

Fortunately, if you purchase the wrong version then upgrade options are available provided your new hardware can support it. However, the best option is to make sure you consult your IT support before committing to buy. There can be many small considerations that are specific to your business’ network that mean only your IT professionals can make the proper recommendations for you. The good news is that the new technology that is coming out now is fantastic and driven by Microsoft’s new-found innovation, you can be sure that other companies are going to start upping the ante as well which means we’re in for more fantastic technology in the near future.

Until next time,
Enjoy IT
Luke Venables
blogger@freshmethod.com.au