Kurt Shintaku's Blog

This isn’t for my customers per se but it’s definitely an important training webinar for folks interested in using Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote within a web browser for FREE.

Office Online, for those unaware, is a suite of online applications accessible for free from any major browser.  It includes:

• HTML-based versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote
• Online storage through OneDrive (15GB by default for free)
• Outlook.com web-based personal information management – including email, calendar & contacts

The great thing about Office Online & Outlook.com, compared to other services like Google Apps & Gmail is:

• Power of Office.  The capabilities you expect from Office are also available on Office Online.  Here’s a few examples among many:
• Fonts.  Office Online applications have full access to all the fonts on your local system.  Google Apps provides access 11 fonts total, limiting you when creating new documents, and
• OneNote.  Office Online’s OneNote provides access to your notes online & synchronizes it’s content – including handwriting & audio recordings – seamlessly with smartphones (iOS, Android, Windows Phone) as well as desktops (Macs & Windows).  Google Apps has no such solution.
• Touch-friendly.  Office Online was designed for use on touch-based devices just as Office 2013 is.  Touch targets are large and usable on iPads, Android tablets, & Surface devices.
• Pivot Tablets & Charts.  Excel Online provide unique access to one of the most important business analysis technologies invented for spreadsheets:  Pivot tables and charts.  Google Spreadsheets do not.
• Autocomplete.  Content entered into documents have the same autocomplete capabilities as their desktop counterparts.  Excel fields recognize when content is being retyped, for example. Google Spreadsheets do not.
• Freeze Panes.  This is a no-brainer necessity for anyone working with large spreadsheets.  You need to be able to freeze a column/row as a reference point (such as header rows) when scrolling large amounts of data.  Google lacks this.
• Data Entry Controls.  Drop down lists with user selectable items (to minimize user entry errors in spreadsheet forms, minimizing the need for data validation) are fully supported from Excel Online.  Google Spreadsheets do not recognize these. 
• Document accuracy.  Loading Office documents never require reformatting.  Office Online understands & displays Office documents from your desktop with 100% fidelity.
• User interface.  Office Online applications look and act just like their desktop counterparts on your desktop computer.  No need to to relearn a new interface.  Office looks like MODERN Office 2000/2013.  Google Apps looks like old Office 2000/2003.
• Collaboration.  Documents stored can be shared securely with other users with Microsoft accounts.  Better yet, users can simultaneously edit the same document at the same time online and visually see what changes each is making in near-real time – from either Office running on a desktop or Office Online.  No more ‘overwriting’ other people’s changes.

For a comparison between Office Online & Google Apps, see the following videos:

• Word Online vs Google Docs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YrS_SQn2sE
• Excel Online vs Google Spreadsheets:
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKrPiQVKGfs
• PowerPoint Online vs Google Slides:
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqz6jrBsorY

For more information about Office Online, visit:

• Getting started at Office.com
  https://support.office.com/en-US/Article/Get-started-at-Office-com-91a4ec74-67fe-4a84-a268-f6bdf3da1804?ui=en-US&rs=en-US&ad=US

If you haven’t tried it, it’s available at http://www.office.com.  The following link will proivide a 15 minute introduction/training to the service.  And again, it’s all free.

• http://blogs.office.com/2014/10/06/join-us-tuesdays-webinar-guide-office-online/

I get this a lot.  The features that Exchange ENTERPRISE CALs add licensing-wise in comparison to Exchange STANDARD CALs include:

• integrated archiving
• in-place hold
• data loss prevention
• unified messaging features

Note there are also the following differences

• “Advanced” Exchange ActiveSync mobile management policies
• “Per user/distribution list” Journaling
• “Custom” retention policies
• Information protection and control (IPC): transport protection rules, Outlook protection rules, Information Rights Management (IRM) search
• Journal decryption

More detail is available on this site:

• Exchange Server 2013 licensing
  http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/exchange/microsoft-exchange-server-licensing-licensing-overview-FX103746915.aspx#Exchange2013CAL

This Preview Edition ebook is about writing applications for Xamarin.Forms, the new mobile development platform for iOS, Android, and Windows Phone unveiled by Xamarin in May 2014.

Xamarin.Forms lets you write shared user-interface code in C# and XAML that maps to native controls on these three platforms.

• Download the PDF (5.14 MB)
• Download the Mobi for Kindle file (40.85 MB)

The Los Angeles/Orange County Lync Users Group is targeted at IT Pros and Developers interested in Microsoft Unified Communications. Our goal is to provide the LA/OC area with technical and business information relating to Lync Server, Exchange Unified Messaging and other components related to Microsoft Lync.

Please register on our webpage at http://www.meetup.com/L-A-O-C-Lync-Users-Group/events/208754042/

Meeting Details

Oct 15th, 2014 3:00PM – 6:00PM PST

The Los Angeles/Orange County Lync Users Group will be conducting their next meeting Oct 15th, 2014. This meeting will include two sessions, the first session will cover Lync with SDN and Wi-Fi.  The second session will dive into an Office 365 Solution Review.

Industry Experts will be on site to deliver these presentations and help answer any questions related to Lync Server.

Food, beverages and additional door prizes courtesy of the Lync Users Group and our sponsors.

Location:

Microsoft Corporation Playa Vista Office
13031 West Jefferson Blvd
Playa Vista, CA 90094

In case you missed the Windows 10 Technical Preview launch on Sept 30th, here’s the recording:

On Sept 30 Microsoft had a media briefing to begin the process of educating enterprises and businesses about the core design of Windows 10, which will be available broadly in late 2015. This video describes how businesses can evaluate the software starting now. (FOR CONSUMERS: the exciting features will be revealed in 2015!)

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INTRODUCING WINDOWS 10
For folks that need something a little quicker, here’s a 4 minute.

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DOWNLOADING THE WINDOWS 10 TECHNICAL PREVIEW
If you want to download the bits, here’s the download instructions:
(You’ll need to sign up for the Windows Insider program)

• Download Windows Technical Preview
  http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/preview-iso

RESOURCES FOR THE WINDOWS 10 TECHNICAL PREVIEW
Take advantage of resources designed to help IT professionals get the most out of the preview experience.

• Announcement of Windows 10 on the Windows blog
• What’s new in Windows 10 for business
• Frequently asked questions
• Try it out: Windows 10 Technical Preview for Enterprise
• Forums for the Technical Preview for Enterprise IT pro

Based on the timeframes given by Terry Myerson, Windows 10 will be released “later in the year,” meaning 2015. 

More specifically, during his speech during the launch of the Windows 10 Technical Preview, he stated that the Windows 10 Developer Preview will be released at the BUILD Conference in April 2015 (38:50), meaning that the launch/release of the final product will definitely be after this date.

Plan accordingly!

Meet Sway, the newest member of the Office family!

Today we’re introducing a brand new app to the Office portfolio. Sway is a new way to create a beautiful, interactive, web-based expression of your ideas, from your phone or browser.

• Blog post
• Video
• Garage Series episode

Sway is now in Preview, and you can request an invite at Sway.com.

The new Office 365 Customer Success Center is up and running.

The Customer Success Center is a resource where folks responsible for Office 365 deployments and management can read and research on:

• Scenarios
• Adoption
• Deployment
• Communities
• Partners
• Resources

Learn how to get the most out of Office 365, quickly get your team onboard, and drive adoption!

• LINK: Office 365 Customer Success Center
  http://success.office.com/

Microsoft is releasing important driver/firmware updates for Surface Pro 3 today (Sept 9^th) that may address some of the issues users have experienced.  These updates will be available via Windows Update ~10am, PST and for download shortly thereafter.  The following updates will be listed as “System Firmware Update – 9/9/2014” within the Windows Update History:

Note  When Surface updates are provided via the Windows Update service, they are delivered in stages to Surface customers. As a result, not every Surface will receive the update at the same time, but the update will be delivered to all devices. If you have not received the update then please manually check Windows Update later.

• Surface Pro UEFI update (v 3.10.250.0) improves system experience and enhances overall system stability, including Wi-Fi.
• Surface Pro Embedded Controller Firmware update (v 38.6.50.0) enhanced support for system performance and user experience, including adjustments to the thermal tuning.
• Surface Pro System Aggregator Firmware update (v 3.9.350.0) increases the overall system reliability and compatibility with a Surface cover.
• Surface Integration driver update (v 2.0.1102.0) enhances user experience, including Wi-Fi stability.
• Surface Wi-Fi and Bluetooth driver update (v 15.68.3055.107) improves Wi-Fi/ Bluetooth reliability and system stability, and significantly enhances the user experience.

Users can update immediately by going into PC Settings, Update and Recovery, select the box for “Check for updates from Microsoft Update”.

In case you hadn’t heard, for a limited time, (from now until Oct. 6) if you purchase a new Surface Pro 3 through the official Microsoft Store you will receive a free one year subscription to New York Times Crossword.  This is $39 value.

The NYT Crossword app is special.  It enables the player to:

• Handwrite their answers into the crossword using the Surface Pro 3 stylus
• Circle their writing and have it converted to text
• Play the actual crossword published in the NYT that day
• Go back and download archives of the NYT crossword from the past month

So if already have a Surface Pro 3 from the store… congratulations!  Download the Windows 8 app and start wracking your brain on “what the heck is a 7 letter word for ‘donut’?”

(If you don’t have a Surface Pro 3 from the store, you can still download and play NYT Crossword mini-puzzle for free daily)

• New York Times Crossword Windows 8 App
  http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-us/app/nyt-crossword/18fde24c-e748-482a-b2c1-e5a877e017b5
• Also available: New York Times Crossword Windows Phone App
  http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/store/app/nyt-crossword/5d4d6f3f-9091-414c-a417-4fd95209cf54

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Original post:
http://blogs.microsoft.com/firehose/2014/09/08/buy-a-new-surface-pro-3-and-get-a-free-one-year-subscription-to-nyt-crossword/