Microsoft stretches Team’s extensions with it’s latest update
The new Surface Laptop was the marquee arrival in today’s Microsoft announcement, but boy howdy, the company also dropped a whole bunch of new accessories. It’s a pretty broad range of new devices, including some small updates to existing products and entirely new entries. But there’s one clear through line across them all: Teams. Microsoft is, after all, a software company at heart. That’s always fueled the company’s hardware products. So it’s really not a major surprise that its productivity…
Google Drive: your tool for collaboration
Sharing Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides files makes it easy to collaborate with colleagues on documents, presentations, and spreadsheets. Here’s how. You may think of Google Drive mostly as a cloud storage service, but it also includes a suite of online office apps: Google Docs (word processor), Google Sheets (spreadsheet app), and Google Slides (presentation app). You can use them to collaborate with colleagues on a document, spreadsheet, or presentation in real time or asynchronously. These apps can also be…
How to negotiate an IT job offer
Compensation is one thing, but CIOs and soon-to-be CIOs should leverage their job offer position by putting their values on the table and setting themselves up for success before they sign. Congratulations! You got a sweet job offer. You are considering upending your life to make a big change. But before you do that, take a closer look at that offer. Is it everything you want? This moment doesn’t come often, so it’s important to ensure not only that you…
Windows 10: Your Remote Desktop Options Discussed
Ever need to access a computer remotely? It’s easy to do in Windows 10, but Microsoft has provided a few different ways to get there. One is the old, familiar Terminal Server-based Remote Desktop Connection (RDC), also known as MSTSC for its executable name mstsc.exe. Another is the newer Remote Desktop, a Universal Windows Platform app that Microsoft calls URDC, with package name Microsoft.RemoteDesktop_10.2.1535.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe. Figure 1 shows these two remote desktop clients side-by-side on a current Windows 10 desktop. On the…
Windows 10X: All you need to know
There’s a good chance you’ve heard about Windows 10X, the new version of Windows that’s about to be released. And if you have, there’s a reasonable chance you’re confused about what exactly it is. You’re not alone. Microsoft has released confusing, sometimes clashing information about the new operating system. We’re here to help. Read on for everything you need to know about the upcoming Windows 10 variant. What is Windows 10X? Is it the successor to Windows 10? Windows 10X resembles Windows…
Best productivity practices during the pandemic
There are ways companies (and schools) can not only adjust to the “New Normal” but actually thrive. Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been chatting with people at four multi-national companies I work with who’ve seen productivity and revenue increase during the COVID-19 pandemic. They have been surprisingly consistent about why they’ve benefited from this New Normal. I’ve also been following some of the schools that have done as well and interestingly, for once, education seems to be ahead…
Remote IT’s future: Key lessons learned from this WFH era
COVID-19 made IT staff working from home a necessity. Should the practice now be viewed as a fresh path to improved productivity? SDI Productions / Getty Images After more than six months of dealing with COVID-19 challenges, IT leaders are beginning to understand what works — and what doesn’t — when it comes to managing their remote teams. At this stage, only one thing seems certain: IT operations are never going to return to the way they were pre-pandemic.…
6 IT projects to boost your tech career
Looking to get ahead? Investing time in an independent side project can pay off at your day job. Here are your best bets for learning skills expected to grow in demand in 2021 and beyond. Getty Images Most tech professionals don’t need prodding to upskill — adopting new technology is just part of the appeal for working in the field. But the COVID pandemic has heightened focus and revealed needs in a few areas in particular: remote work,…
