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March 2013 NewsletterI hope you are keeping fit and well and you survived this grim winter, spring’s around the corner. Here’s a roundup of the latest IT news. Windows 8 Update.
As it will be the norm for all new Windows computers for the next few years, it’s a case of “if you can’t beat them, join them”. On the plus side, W8 has many good points. It’s relatively quick to set up on a new computer and looks very colourful and easy to use within 5 minutes of first setting it up. It’s very fast to open (usually less than 30 seconds from startup until your emails are open). The opening Start screen opens with big colourful tiles, which give quick access to your favourite programmes, such as Email, Internet, Documents, Pictures etc. There is also an icon which takes you to the conventional Desktop screen, which you will be more familiar with. W8 has many new useful features, such as Side by Side screen so you can view 2 programmes at once. Like most Smart phones, there is an Apps store, where you can download a huge selection of Apps, some are free, and some are paid for. I’ve yet to meet anyone who loves W8, but most users, like me, are getting used to the new layout and features and overcoming some of the initial problems, such as the horrible new email programme and new version of Internet Explorer. My overall impression is that I really do like it now, especially as I have found the way of working around its shortcomings. It’s even better when using it on a Touch Screen or Tablet. So if you are thinking about buying a new PC or laptop, please don’t worry about using Windows 8. If you want me to, I’ll be able to set it all up properly for you and show you how to make it easy and pleasurable to use. Major Problem for Yahoo Email customers.
In the last month, there have been increasingly more frequent cases of Yahoo email accounts being hacked into. I have personally received at least one email every day, in the last week, from a yahoo customer, which carries no message other than a link which when clicked on, takes you to a dodgy website. It is not only restricted to Yahoo customers. It is also common to Hotmail, AOL and Gmail customers, but Yahoo is by far the most prevalent at the moment. In the most extreme of cases, I’ve had one lady who has not only had her Yahoo email hacked into, and had an email sent out to all her contacts, saying she had had her handbag stolen and was asking to be sent money to enable her to get back home, but they also went back and completely deleted all her Inbox, Sent Items and all her contacts! Look at this news article: So, what can be done? Its also advisable to take a full back up of your email folders and contacts to either an external source, e.g memory stick or external hard drive, or use an email programme such as Outlook, so that even if your online yahoo account is completely wiped out, at least you have everything backed up on your computer. Or you could open a new email account e.g. Gmail, and have your Yahoo mail forwarded to that address, in case of disaster. Of course I am here to help if you would like assistance or advice. Microsoft Office 2013 and 365
Microsoft has just released their updated version of Office, 2013. I’ve only played with it briefly a couple of times, and to be honest, I can’t see a great difference between this and Office 2010. There are some new features, but nothing that jumps out as a “must have” to warrant spending money on upgrading. Somewhat more interesting is Office 365. This is a new product offered by Microsoft which is the online version of Office, but is a subscription service, which you pay either a monthly or annual fee. The big advantage with 365 is that one family subscription allows you to use it on up to 5 devices (PCs, Macs or Tablets) This means that the full range of Office products, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and even Outlook are available on up to 5 different devices, including Ipads. It even includes two premium products, Microsoft Publisher and Access. You can choose to pay monthly (£7.99 per month) or a better value annual subscription (£79.99). Also included is 60 minutes per month of Skype calls, and extra Cloud storage to a maximum of 27Gb. Office 365 is the way of the future, where everything will be stored in the Cloud, safe and secure, and accessible from any computer anywhere in the world. However, before you rush out to get it, you may wish to consider the alternatives, such as Google Docs, which is totally free, and is perfectly good. If you need any further help or advice please let me know and I’d be happy to discuss what would suit your needs best. Iphone Vs SamsungAs you may know, I’ve always been a fan of the IPhone, even though I don’t own one (I’m still a Blackberry boy at the moment). It has always been head and shoulders above every other smartphone on the market. However, my son has now converted me to become an even bigger fan of the Samsung phones. The most popular is the amazing Galaxy S111. But he’s just bought its bigger brother, called the Samsung Note 2. OMG it is just unbelievable. It does virtually everything the IPhone does, but is faster, especially the Internet Access, and has so many additional features. To see a full review of this, please click on the link below. If like me, you are still baffled by how technology has moved on so much in the last few years, this will blow your mind. It also makes phone calls too!!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdsMwGWvhO4 And finally……How many people do you think can play one guitar at the same time??? 1, 2, 3??? Try 5 people!!! You have got to watch this, I love it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9NF2edxy-M That’s it for now. Don’t forget that I’m here whenever you need any help or advice.
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In my
last newsletter, I gave you my opinion on the latest Microsoft Operating System,
Windows 8. Since then, I have been using it extensively and can now give you an
update.
