What the difference is between business and consumer equipment?

We sell business level PCs and equipment and are often asked what the difference is between business and consumer equipment – specifically PCs. Here is a description of the most common differences between these machines.

1. Longevity

Business laptops are made to last longer. Manufacturers assume consumers will upgrade computers more frequently as new technology comes out. The same is not correct about businesses. Most businesses have a plan in place for replacing technology every 4-6 years. Also, business computers are built for long-term, all-day usage, which is very different from the mostly sporadic use a home computer gets.

2. Design

Business computers are basic. Very few offer unique design features or “pretty” colors that you frequently see in consumer computers. While business models are finally starting to catch up (2-in-1 tablets, like the Microsoft Surface Pro) they are still behind the consumer market.

3. Configuration

Business laptops offer more options for configuration, such as additional storage, higher-quality display, processors, battery and even keyboards. Consumer laptops might offer a few of those options, but they don’t customize configuration like business models.

4. Support

Business computer systems come with better support options and are more easily supported by your IT department. The default warranty is typically more extended on a business model than a consumer model, and business models tend to get priority support from the manufacturer.

5. Power

In general, business computers are built with much more powerful processors and graphics units than consumer computers. They also have better cooling solutions and bigger batteries. Consumer computers can usually be upgraded to add these items in if needed, but business computers know their users already require this, so it comes standard.

If you’re looking to upgrade the computers in your office, contact us. We have relationships with most computer vendors and can get you the equipment your office needs while still working within your budget. To get started, call or email our sales team.

12 reasons to use Microsoft Office 365

Productivity is a great word that people love to use. However, in the real world, productivity can be summed up in a simple question: Can I do my job easier or not?

Microsoft has invested heavily trying to make the user and administrator experiences of Office 365 as easy and simple as possible.

If you are thinking about moving your business to Office 365, here are 10 reasons why you should.

1. Use the tools you already know and use.

Office 365 works seamlessly with the programs you already know and use – including Outlook, Word, Excel, OneNote, Publisher and PowerPoint. These tools provide the same great features you rely on as well as powerful capabilities in Office 365. With a number of subscription levels, you can see if others are editing documents you are using, synchronize documents with your desktop, broadcast PowerPoint presentations, and check documents in and out of your online document library.

2. Simple to learn and easy to use

Office 365 is simple to learn and straightforward to use. There’s no need to learn new software or jargon; in just a few minutes you can create a trial account and see how easily your business can be “in the cloud” with benefits usually found only in bigger companies.

3. Communicate and collaborate with ease

Create a password-protected portal to share large files both inside and outside of your company, giving you a single location to find the latest versions of files or documents, no matter how many people are working on them. You can also send instant messages to co-workers and customers and invite them to participate in online meetings where you can review documents or take control of a desktop.

4. No need to be an IT expert

Designed for businesses with no in-house IT team, Office 365 allows you to easily set up and use the features of the software, helping you to focus on your business rather than the technical lingo. You can perform administrative tasks using an intuitive portal that is accessible to only those who you designate. The online portal provides step-by-step instructions on how to add users and set up your account so your employees can quickly start using Office 365.

5. Collaborate online

With years of experience in delivering scalable, secure online solutions, Office 365 enhances your experience with features such as a 50 GB mailbox that accommodates attachments up to 25 MB, calendaring, contacts, online meetings, instant messaging, document collaboration and more. You can take advantage of these advanced features at a small-business price.

6. Get that professional look

With state-of-the-art but easy-to-use collaboration, mail, and messaging services, you can set yourself apart from organisations. Office 365 includes design tools to easily create a professional, public-facing website in minutes.

7. Anywhere, anytime access

With web-enabled access to email, important documents, contacts, and calendar on almost any device, Office 365 frees you to work where and when you choose. Letting you respond to important requests right away from just about anywhere.

The ability to access email and documents from your mobile device means you don’t need to hurry to the office, and if you’re travelling without access to Microsoft Office, Office 365 helps you view and edit documents – take control of when and where you work with Office 365.

8. Flexibility for your business

Get the flexibility and predictability your business needs with pay-as-you-go pricing options. Office 365 also offers great flexibility by allowing you to easily provide users with only the services they need, cost-effectively adding value to your business.

9. Guaranteed up-time

Designed to deliver reliability, availability and performance, Office 365 helps safeguard your critical data with enterprise-grade reliability and disaster recovery with multiple datacentres and automatic fail-overs and strict privacy policy for a guaranteed 99.9% up-time.

10. Safe and secure

With Office 365, you can use the same systems used by Microsoft and other worldwide enterprises to help protect email, documents and networks. These systems scan you messages and documents for spam and malicious software (malware) 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

11. All your apps in one place – a unified UI

One awesome feature of Office 365 is that it allows you pick and choose the tools you want. Microsoft has a lot of business apps and these are regularly released in the Windows Store (many of which are free). You can choose to add them to your Office 365 home screen and access them easily from one place.

12. New features and bug updates

Once you’ve moved to Office 365 you’ll have escaped the endless cycle of waiting a couple of years for Microsoft’s next product release. Instead, you’ll have instant access to updates and bug fixes as soon as they’re ready.

Plus 12 cool features you should be using in Office365

Thinking that Office 365 is ‘just’ Office, users will never know the fantastic functionalities that exist.

Office 365 comes with a full list of tools that will increase productivity. Since you have already been using Office applications for years, it’s very easy to stick to the same old habits. Once you’ve adapted to a changed interface, you’ll want to use your favorite application similarly.

By doing so, you may be missing out on new features that can revolutionize the way you work. Microsoft aims to increase productivity with its products, and with the recent release of Office 2016, collaboration has been pushed to another level. Check out these cool features.

1. Co-Authoring

Collaborate online in real-time. See each other’s changes as they happen with real-time co-authoring in Word, then save your file to OneDrive or SharePoint so others can work on it with you.

2. Chat in Office apps

With Skype in-app integration in Office 2016 applications, you can use this feature to chat, share screens and have audio or video conversations with your colleagues. Even when you do close the application, you can continue the conversation via Skype on your desktop or phone, and keep talking to the team as they make changes.

3. Inserting links to stored files instead of sending entire files to co-workers

Don’t worry about sending files as large attachments, when you can upload your file to Office 365’s cloud storage. Create an email, then instead of attaching a file, insert the link to the file on your cloud. Outlook will automatically grant edit permission to the people you are emailing. You can change permissions anytime you want.

4. Turn a OneNote item into an Outlook calendar event

Convert notes to tasks inside your calendar and assign them to co-workers with reminders and deadlines. You can also send meeting notes taken in OneNote by email and automatically add details like date, locations, attendees, etc. for each meeting they’re related to.

5. Use your mouse as a laser pointer in PowerPoint

Use a simple keyboard shortcut (Ctrl+P) to turn your mouse into a laser pointer during your PowerPoint presentations. This feature has been part of PowerPoint for years, but was recently integrated for touch-screen devices. If you hold your finger or stylus down on the device, the red button fake laser pointer will appear.

6. Edit and convert to PDF easily

Once you have finished editing your document, spreadsheet, presentation or publication, you can convert it easily to a PDF with the “Save as PDF” feature. If you want to edit a PDF, you can convert it into a Word document without the formatting issues that come with copy-pasting or editing.

7. Resume reading in Word

The resume reading feature in Word allows you to pick up right where you left off, even on different devices.

8. Retrieve the right version

Version control has been improved with Office 2016 co-authoring. You can see which changes were made, by whom and when. You can also revert back to a previous version of the file if necessary.

9. Work offline, upload changes later

Your OneDrive storage is synced to your device, so you can choose to work offline on files. Once you are reconnected to the Internet, the new versions will be automatically uploaded to your storage. The new version will also be sent to any other connected device.

10. Work anywhere from any device

Being based in the cloud, Office 365 means your colleagues no longer need to be chained to the desk to access company data and be productive. It’s possible to work from mobiles, tablets and laptops on the go – and it’s all backed up by comprehensive security measures. You get the Office Web Apps with your Office 365 subscription, so you can work on your cloud files from any up-to-date web browser on an Internet-connected computer.

You also get access to Office Mobile Apps so you can use Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneDrive directly from your smartphone or tablet while you’re on the move.

11. Office 365 Planner to help organize your team’s workflow

Office 365 Planner will help you and your colleagues plan workflows and organize collaboration. Use this project management tool to create plans, organize and assign tasks, share files, set due dates and provide status updates. All this work is done with through email notifications and visual dashboards.

12. Declutter your inbox

Microsoft’s Clutter feature will use your mailbox rules to automatically organize your email so high-priority messages are visible first. Other email will be moved to the Clutter folder so you can view it later.

SOURCES

• https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/office-365-isnt-just-cloud-kirsty-mcgrath
• https://en.share-gate.com/blog/top-10-reasons-to-move-to-office-365
• http://networkfish.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-office-365/
• http://www.sherweb.com/blog/15-cool-features-you-should-be-using-in-office-365/

Google Wifi review: Wi-Fi that works

Google’s mesh router balances performance and convenience

It’s funny to think that the most interesting tech products of 2016 have been routers. The router has transformed from a utilitarian computer hardware with antennas sticking out of it to multiple, sleekly designed pods that are placed throughout your home. This method of using more than one device as a wireless access point is known as a mesh system, and it promises to fix those dead zone problems traditional routers often succumb to.

Eero is the most well-known mesh router system, though others have quickly hit the market, including efforts from Netgear and other startups. Now Google is getting into the mesh router game with the Google Wifi, a multi-point router system that shares more than a few similarities with Eero.

 

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Google says that the Wifi system is the product of three-and-a-half years of work — and it has previously released a router, called the OnHub. But Google Wifi is different from what Google did before. First of all, Google is making it directly. Google Wifi also leverages both clever hardware design and cloud-based intelligence to make sure you have a strong Wi-Fi signal throughout your home, no matter its size, construction, or layout. In addition, Google designed the product so that it can be easily set up via a smartphone and managed and controlled remotely. Easy guest network setup and parental controls are also part of the Wifi pitch.

Google Wifi, which is hitting stores today, is sold individually ($129) or as a three-pack ($299). That’s a lot less than the $499 Eero asks for a three-unit setup and still cheaper than Netgear’s well-reviewed $399 Orbi, yet it makes many of the same promises. Google says a single unit can cover a 1,500-square-foot home, while a three-pack will span a 4,500-square-foot residence. Additional units can be added for coverage beyond that.

I’ve spent the past week testing a three-pack of Google Wifi in my modest, two-story home. To put Google’s claims to the test, I compared it to Eero and Orbi in the same environment. Though my home isn’t especially large, it presents challenges to traditional routers, thanks to older construction and lots of walls. It’s an ideal candidate for a mesh network system, and all three systems provided much better coverage than a single router has in the past. Google Wifi, while not the fastest system I tested, hits a good balance between speed, coverage, ease of use, and cost, which makes it a compelling option if you’re looking at a mesh router system.

The Google Wifi units are designed to live politely in your home

Design has always been an afterthought with traditional routers, taking a backseat to functionality — and that has meant big, ugly designs with spidery antennas. But since mesh systems work best when they are out in the open and spread throughout your home, they should look somewhat nice. Fortunately, Google Wifi does: each unit is a compact, unobtrusive cylinder that can be tucked away on a shelf or counter and doesn’t look like a piece of computer equipment in the middle of your living room.

It’s about twice as tall as the Eero’s squircle, and can be best described as two hockey pucks that have been painted white and stacked on top of each other. There’s a lone light between the two pucks that indicates status — blue for setup, white for connected — which can be disabled via the Google Wifi app.

On the bottom of the Wifi unit is a power port and two gigabit Ethernet jacks: one for an internet connection from your broadband modem and a second to attach hardwired devices, such as hubs for smart home products. That’s about it for the Wifi’s exterior hardware — unlike traditional routers that might have multiple Ethernet ports, the Wifi needs a network switch to expand its port selection (just like the Eero). It also doesn’t have a USB port to attach a storage drive for media or backups, which many routers provide.

Under the hood, the Google Wifi has AC1200 2×2 Wave 2 capabilities and supports both 2.4GHz and 5GHz 802.11a/b/g/n/ac networking. It is secured with the standard WPA2-PSK protocol. (This is essentially the same hardware found in each Eero point.) The Wi-Fi hardware in each unit isn’t especially remarkable, but when you have multiple points in your home, the need for each one to be high-powered diminishes.

Setting up the Wifi system is done through Google’s new Wifi app for iOS and Android (formerly the OnHub app). The app walks you through setting up a new network, naming it, securing it with a password, and placing the Wifi units throughout your home. It also lets you check your network speeds, from both your ISP to the modem and from Google Wifi to your device, and the strength of signal between each node. Google’s Network Assist feature will provide tips on how to improve performance by moving a unit to a different location or will tell you when the internet from your ISP is not functioning.

In addition, the app lets you see how many devices are connected to your network, pause Wi-Fi on specific devices, prioritize others, and easily create a guest network. It also has very basic smart home features, which are limited to controlling Philips Hue lights at the moment. The app allows for remote access to the network, so you can manage it even when you’re not at home.

Getting the Google Wifi system up and running in my home was painless and took about 10 minutes total to complete. My house is not large, but it has older construction and its main living spaces are additions to the original structure, meaning that one of their walls used to be an exterior wall, which presents an even greater challenge for wireless signals. Further, the modem is located in an upstairs room, making it difficult for a standard router to reach the additions on the left and right sides of the house.

I put one Wifi point in my upstairs office, connected to my ISP’s modem. (If you have a combination router and modem from your ISP, you will need to disable its router functionality in order to use Google Wifi.) I then placed the other points in the areas where a traditional router struggles to cover: the family room on the right side of the house and the master bedroom on the opposite side.

Google Wifi provided enough bandwidth for 4K video streaming in every room of my home

I have a lot of wireless devices constantly connecting and disconnecting to the network, presenting other challenges to the router. At any given time, there might be two or three dozen (and sometimes more) devices ranging from phones to tablets to laptops to TVs to set-top boxes to light bulbs to speakers and others connected to the Wi-Fi network, which can cause difficulties with traffic routing and interference.

In each room, Google Wifi was able to provide a strong wireless signal and enough internet bandwidth for the most demanding streaming needs, including 4K video. (My home internet plan provides 200Mbps download speeds and 35Mbps uploads.) Unsurprisingly, the furthest room (our bedroom) proved to be the hardest test, but I was still able to get an average of 90Mbps download speeds in there, which is more than enough for streaming Ultra HD video.Results are averages of three consecutive tests using Ookla’s Speedtest, with server manually selected to nearest geographical location. Devices’ Wi-Fi connections were refreshed at each location to force connection to the nearest node. Internet service plan is a 200Mbps / 35Mbps cable connection from Optimum Online, which enters the home through the “Office” location.

Compared to Eero using the same setup (main point in the upstairs office, a point in the family room and a point in the bedroom), Google Wifi provided the same amount of coverage and internet speeds. Orbi, which uses two units instead of three (one placed in the office, one in the bedroom) offered up the fastest speeds and was able to max out my internet connection in every room, including the troublesome master bedroom. But though Orbi only has two units, they are physically much larger than either Google Wifi or Eero and not nearly as discreet. Orbi is also more expensive than Google Wifi and doesn’t have an easy app-based management or setup system.

Coverage and throughput aren’t the only things that matter with a mesh system: it also needs to ensure all your devices are getting their Wi-Fi from the closest access point instead of staying connected to one further away. Google says that the Network Assist feature in Wifi will manage moving devices from point to point and switching Wi-Fi channels automatically in case of congestion. In the time that I’ve been testing it, I’ve not encountered issues where my devices lose signal or coverage because they didn’t connect to the proper access point. The Wifi app does show which point each device is connected to, but it doesn’t allow you to force devices to hop from one to another.

The question with all of these mesh router systems is do you need to invest in them at all, or will a good, standard router cover you? That really depends on your home and wireless needs, and your environment and needs are certainly different than mine. But if you’ve had issues with getting coverage from a standard router and have had to rely on things like network extenders, a mesh system is an obvious choice for your home.

Google Wifi is not the fastest performing mesh system, as borne out in my testing results. But it is less expensive than the others and is very easy to set up and use. It provided more than enough of my (generous) internet connection to reliably stream 4K video in every room, and it was able to blanket my home with a strong Wi-Fi signal, despite the multitude of devices connected to it at all times.Google Wifi strikes a nice balance between price, performance, and ease of use

If all you care about is raw performance, Orbi is a better router, but for overall experience, including cost and maintenance, Google Wifi is an easier system to use. It’s also an ideal choice for someone looking to improve Wi-Fi in a relative’s home and manage it remotely, since the app makes it very easy to troubleshoot issues even if you aren’t physically connected to the network. Google Wifi was able to provide the same amount of coverage and experience as Eero’s system for $200 less.

Google Wifi is the next logical extension of what Google started with OnHub last year: it takes the simple setup, app-based control, and machine intelligence introduced by OnHub and marries it to a mesh system that can cover larger or more challenging areas with strong signal. And if you’re going to invest in a mesh system, Google Wifi is the one I’d pick.

Edited by Dieter Bohn.
Photography by Dan Seifert.

8.0 Verge Score

Google Wifi

Good Stuff:

• Easy set up
• Powerful, accessible app
• Solid Wi-Fi coverage

Bad Stuff:

• Still an expensive setup
• Not as fast as other mesh systems
• No USB port for network storage or backup

Your guide to using Google Assistant and the Google search app on Android & iPhone

Google Assistant is coming widely to Android phones. Here’s how to use it and other ways to Google on your smartphone — even for iPhone users.

Google Assistant has now come to Android phones beyond Google’s own Pixel. It’s a significant change to how Google’s previously offered search on mobile devices. It’s also the latest in a wide variety of ways people can search with Google on Android.Below, how Google Assistant fits in with Google’s other search options on Android, as well as a refresher for tapping into Google on iPhone.

What is Google Assistant?

Google Assistant is Google’s next generation way of searching with Google. Rather than providing links to websites, Google Assistant is designed to have conversations with you in order to complete tasks.

Theoretically. As I’ll get to, Google has yet to deliver on that promise.

Like Siri, Google Assistant can interact with your Android phone to do a variety of tasks, such as setting alarms or playing music. Like Siri, it can even handle some home automation devices. Google has a page explaining various types of actions here.

Like Siri, you can ask Google Assistant general questions. Unlike Siri, you’ll likely find that Google can handle a wider range of questions than Siri can. That’s because Google Assistant taps into Google’s web-wide search results each and every time you search, making it more comprehensive.

Siri doesn’t go to the web each time you search. Instead, it tries to guess which of a number of sources it uses might have an answer to your question. If those don’t, sometimes it turns to Bing’s web-wide search results. Sometimes it doesn’t. Overall, it means that Siri might often fail for a variety of searches where Google succeeds.

For example, here’s Siri versus Google on a search for “Who won the Oscar for Best Picture this year?” Siri suggests visiting Oscars.com. Google gives the actual answer:

Google Assistant can come up with answers when you converse with it. For example, ask “how old is Stephen Colbert,” and it will give you his age. Ask then simply “how tall is he,” and it understands you want Colbert’s height, even though you never said his name again. But this isn’t something new or unique to Google Assistant. Google’s acted this way with spoken queries since 2013. Also, Siri is getting smarter about handling these types of conversations, too.

The big promise of Google Assistant was that it would combine search with task completion. For instance, you might search for movies that are playing, then have it seamlessly ask if you want to book a ticket and complete that action. Or perhaps you search for places to eat, then Google Assistant magically makes a reservation for you. Both are what Google demonstrated when Google Assistant was unveiled last year.

You won’t find such things being promised on the Google Assistant page today. That’s probably because, if my experience is common, this rarely works. It’s so frustrating that you’re likely better off doing a regular Google search and just clicking on links the old-fashioned way.

For instance, here’s what it was like when I tried to have a “conversation” about buying a movie ticket, where I asked what was playing, then tried to book one of the movies using Google Assistant:

Ideally, as originally billed, Google Assistant would have walked me through the process of selecting a theater and showtime and then launched my Fandango app to complete the booking. Instead, it just kept asking me to pick a showtime, without ever getting past that step, no matter how I tried.

Trying this same thing with a restaurant can be just as frustrating. When I ask for restaurants near me, then say I want to make a reservation at one of them, Google fires up a link to OpenTable rather than actually making the reservation for me by talking with my OpenTable app. The “conversation” stalls.

Sometimes if I name a specific restaurant and time, I can get the OpenTable booking to work as advertised. Sometimes not. It’s so unpredictable that I have no confidence to try. It’s faster to just open the OpenTable or Fandango apps.

Think of Google Assistant as a more knowledgable Siri, and you’ll probably be happy. It’ll answer many of your questions and control many actions on your phone. One day, it might even evolve into the super-smart conversational assistant it was promised to be.

Who gets Google Assistant?

When it comes to smartphones, Google Assistant was exclusive to Google’s own Pixel phone until earlier this month. Now, Google says it will be automatically added to any smartphone running Android 6 or Android 7, for those who use English on their phones in the US, Australia, Canada and the UK. German speakers in Germany will also get it. More countries and language support are promised later this year.

The exception is for phones that don’t use what are called “Google Play Services,” which basically means phones that don’t allow you to download apps from Google Play, Google’s app store. For example, if you have an Amazon Fire tablet, that uses Amazon’s own app store, not Google Play. So that tablet wouldn’t get Google Assistant.

It’s important to understand that Google Assistant is not an app that you can download. Rather, it’s baked into Android 6 or Android 7 for phones described above, that Google considers able to run it. That’s similar to how Siri operates on the iPhone. You don’t download Siri. Rather, it’s part of iOS.

Google Assistant is also part of the Google Home voice-activated assistant, Android Wear watches and the Google Allo messaging app.

That latter is a way for iPhone users to get Google Assistant. Download Allo, and you can ask Google Assistant questions like Android users can. It’s just a clunkier interface, in that you have record your questions.

How do I use Google Assistant?

Google Assistant is activated by doing a long hold on the home button or home icon of your phone. Hold the button, and Google Assistant will ask you to speak what you want. Then it will begin the search process.

You should also be able to trigger Google Assistant to launch by saying “OK Google” followed by your query. However, if your phone is locked, this might not work.

How come I can’t type my query into Google Assistant?

A big change for many Android users will be that Google Assistant won’t allow you to type a query, in the way that the Google app that was triggered by a home screen long hold used to do.

Instead, if you want to type your search into Google, you’ll have to use one of the alternatives covered below.

What about Google Now?

Until last year, “Google Now” was the official name for the feature offering predictive suggestions offered within the Google App, like these:

Google no longer calls this feature Google Now. You’ll find plenty of people who still refer to the feature this way. Even Google will still say Google Now on occasion, such as in this help page or when Google suggests enabling the feature on some new phones.

But officially, Google Now is not the name, Google tells Search Engine Land. It has no name now. What was Google Now is just predictive search “cards” that will appear within your Google app “feed.”

If you have a phone with Google Assistant, these predictive cards are not within it. Instead, to get them, you have to use the separate Google app (covered below). On some phones, you can swipe right from your home screen to open the app and see your cards. The Pixel works this way, for example.

On other phones, you’ll have to use the Google app icon to get to your cards. Both the Galaxy S7 and the iPhone work this way, for instance.

What’s the Google app?

The Google app doesn’t use the word “search” in its name, but that’s effectively what it is — an app that gives you fast access to Google Search.

It’s easiest to understand with the iPhone. You download the app, then you can tap the Google app icon to launch a search screen. If you’ve opted into predictive suggestions, you’ll also see any of those listed as previously covered.

Your feed is shown by default. You can use the small icon at the bottom right of the Google search app to toggle to “Upcoming” and see information that’s more related to your daily activities, such as meetings or package deliveries. However, if you have a Pixel phone, for some reason you might not have these buttons. In that case, all your cards will be mixed together.

To search, you type in the box or tap the microphone icon to search. You can also say “OK Google” to search hands-free, assuming you’ve already used your hands to open the Google app.

How to launch the Google search varies. On the iPhone, you have to tap the Google app icon. Most Android phones will already have the Google app preinstalled, so you can tap on the icon to launch it with them. Some Android phones may also allow you to swipe right to launch the app, though not all will.

Searching with the Google Search bar widget

Many Android phones will have a Google search bar widget preinstalled on them. It’s just a big search box that sits at the top of your home screen (or with the Pixel, it’s a button that you have to tap to open):

In either case, this allows you to do a regular Google search and get back results. It’s sort of a cut-down version of the Google app, because the results will appear within the widget rather than in a browser. But you will not get any feed information.

If your phone doesn’t have Google Assistant, you likely can activate that search bar by speaking “OK Google.” If you do have Google Assistant, as mentioned earlier, those words will launch that.

Sorry, iPhone users — no Google search widget for you. Google still hasn’t released one.

Screen search — formerly ‘Now on Tap’

If you have an Android phone, Google can get fancy doing a contextual search for you. This is called “screen search,” a relatively new name for what was previously known as Now on Tap. Here’s an example of how it looks:

Here’s how it works for those who do NOT have Google Assistant. Do a long press on the home button when you’re viewing any screen, even if you’re in an app. Google will read the information on the screen and suggest information it thinks you might find helpful. If you’re on your home screen, it will also give you easy access to certain types of information.

If you DO have Google Assistant, getting to screen search is trickier. Do a long hold on the home icon or button, then when Google Assistant launches, swipe up. You’ll then reveal screen search information.

If you have an iPhone, if you’re in the Google app and viewing a web page, you have a rudimentary form of screen search. You can ask Google questions, and it will try to answer them using the context of the page. Don’t expect great results with this, as opposed to screen search on Android.

Google via Chrome & Safari

Want to go old school and search using Google via a browser on your phone? That’s easy.

Google Chrome will be preinstalled on most Android phones. Using the address bar, you can conduct searches that are sent to Google, by default. You can both type or speak your searches.

For those on iOS, Safari is preinstalled and by default, will conduct a Google search. However, Siri and Spotlight Search will not use Google. Instead, they’ll tap into Bing, assuming they don’t find information from other sources first.

iOS users can also install Google Chrome and have access to Google Search that way by default.

Android TV

Android TV

Entertainment tailored for you

Introducing a smarter TV

Blockbuster movies and live sports. Streaming apps and multiplayer games. Android TV delivers a world of content, apps and games to your living room.

Less browsing,
more watching

Apps such as YouTube, Netflix and BBC iPlayer put personalised recommendations for videos, shows and sports on your home screen.

Just say what you want

Press the mic on your remote and tell Android TV what you want. Try “Jurassic Park”, “romantic comedies set in London” or “what’s tomorrow’s weather forecast?”

From one screen to another

Cast movies & TV shows, music, games, sports and more – from Android, iOS, Mac, Windows or Chromebook to your TV. Just tap the Cast button on your mobile app to start playing on your TV.

SEE CHROMECAST-ENABLED APPS

Android gaming goes big

Single-player, multi-player, online or offline. Whether you play casually or go all-in, Android TV offers a new way to play.

• Multi-player
• Phone, Tablet or TV
• All kinds of games
• Beautiful Graphics

Multi-player

Fun for everyone

Grab up to four game pads, Android phones or tablets to play Beach Buggy Racing head-to-head with friends.

Phone, Tablet or TV

Continue from where you left off

Finish a level on your phone, then play the next one on your TV. Google Play Games saves progress on your Android phone, tablet and TV.

        

     

     

              

All kinds of games

Something for every gamer

Immerse yourself in arcade racing, 3D battles and beautiful adventures.

Beautiful Graphics

Android games, stunningly beautiful

Visual details and stunning 3D graphics come to life on the biggest screen in your home.

The apps you love, now on your TV

Discover apps for movies, TV, music, radio and more in Google Play.

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YouTube unveils YouTube TV, its live TV streaming service.

After a year of rumors, YouTube is finally drawing back the curtain on its latest play for entertainment industry domination — a live TV service.

At the company’s Playa Vista offices, a crowd of roughly 100 journalists settled into tables and chairs arrayed in the company’s hangar-like foyer to the strains of “Video Killed the Radio Star” and “Coffee and TV” to hear the news. (Seriously, YouTube’s music game is on point).

Distinct from YouTube Red, the new service, YouTube TV, which has been in the works for years at Google’s internet video behemoth, has quietly been inking contracts with media companies to distribute their content on its TV service.

As previously reported by The WSJ and Bloomberg News, a steady drumbeat of leaks had already set the tone for what will be offered by the service.

According to Bloomberg, YouTube had been talking with all of the major networks to roll up content. CBS was the first major TV network to sign on to the service, with all of the other studios also roped into discussions including 21st Century Fox, Comcast’s NBCUniversal and Disney, which owns ABC, ESPN and others. Continue reading →

How to Use All of Windows 10’s Backup and Recovery Tools

Windows 10 includes many different backup tools. Microsoft has restored the old Windows Backup tool removed from Windows 8.1, and File History is still around. But those are just the tip of the iceberg.

The latest version of Windows also includes way to back up and restore system images, wipe your computer to its default state, store files online, and make recovery drives you can use in case of emergency.

File History

File History introduced in Windows 8, reappears in Windows 10. It’s still the recommended way to back up. That’s why File History is integrated into both the new “Settings” app and the old Control Panel, while Windows 7’s backup feature is only available in the Control Panel.

This feature is more limited, and it only backs up files located in your user account’s libraries. You’ll need to make libraries appear in File Explorer and add folders to these libraries or create new libraries if you want to back up files stored in other folders.

Once you’re done, Windows can automatically create backup copies of your files. You can use it to restore all your files if you ever lose them, restore a single file, or roll back a file to an older version.

Backup and Restore (Windows 7)

Microsoft has included the old Backup and Restore feature from Windows 7. This was deprecated in Windows 8 and removed in Windows 8.1, but it’s back. It’s also known as “Windows Backup.”

This tool will allow you to restore any old Windows 7 backups on your Windows 10 computer. But you can also use it to back up your Windows 10 PC in the exact same way you’d back up a Windows 7 PC. Unlike Microsoft’s new File History backup solution, you can use Windows Backup to more easily create a backup of practically everything on your hard drive.

You’ll find this tool in the Control Panel — just search for “backup” to locate it.

OneDrive

OneDrive may not really be a “backup” solution in the traditional sense, but it’s now integrated into Windows itself. Files you store in OneDrive will be stored in your OneDrive account online so you can access them on your other devices, too. If you blow Windows away and restart from scratch — or use Windows on a different device — you just have to log in with your Microsoft account and all your OneDrive files will be available for you in File Explorer.

Reset This PC

In Windows 8, there were “Refresh this PC” and “Reset this PC” options. In Windows 10, it’s just a single “Reset this PC” option. You just have to open the Settings app, select Update & security, select Recovery, and click the “Get started” button under “Reset this PC.”

You can tell Windows to keep your user files and reset the operating system (a “refresh”) and installed programs to its default state, or remove everything (a “reset”). If you remove everything, you can tell Windows to securely erase the drive — something you should do before getting rid of a Windows 10 computer or any other device.

System Image Backups

You’ll find this feature in the Backup and Restore (Windows 7) control panel. Just click “Create a system image” at the left side of the window. or, open the File History control panel and select “System Image” in the sidebar.

Unlike other solutions, this allows you to create an entire image of your current Windows system, including your operating system, installed programs, settings, and user files. This backup can be stored on an external hard drive, on several DVDs, or on a network location. If you ever need to get your computer back to a specific state, you can restore this backup.

Realistically most people shouldn’t use this feature. You can get your computer’s operating system back to its initial state using the Reset your PC feature and restore individual files, reinstalling all your programs by hand. Your backups will be much smaller and you can have Windows automatically create them on a regular basis.

But this feature is still integrated, and still useful. if you want to create a system image backup, you don’t need third-party tools like Norton Ghost or Acronis TrueImage.

Advanced Startup Options

From here, you can restore Windows from a system image you created, use system restore to correct problems, and perform other maintenance tasks. If you’re running preview builds of Windows, this menu allows you to revert to a previous build if the current build doesn’t boot or work properly. This menu should also appear if your Windows 10 PC attempts to boot properly and can’t.

Recovery Drive Creator

To do so, open the Control Panel and search for “Recovery.” Click the Recovery icon and you’ll see a list of advanced recovery tools. Click “Create a recovery drive” to create a USB recovery drive. You could also open the Start menu, type RecoveryDrive.exe into the box, and press Enter to access this tool directly. Boot from this drive to access these tools if Windows ever won’t allow you to access them normally.

Windows 10 no longer includes a separate recovery partition, so this tool won’t allow you to remove the recovery partition from your computer anymore. That’s no longer necessary — you just get the free space by default.

Windows 10 includes other troubleshooting features found in previous versions of Windows, too. If your computer becomes unstable, you can use the system restore feature to revert your system files and settings back to a known-good state.

Microsoft Confirms Windows 7 And Windows 8 Support Cuts

The GHOST vulnerability – what you need to know

In the last couple of days, a widespread Linux vulnerability known as GHOST has been receiving a lot of attention in the security community. In theory, this vulnerability can allow an attacker to remotely execute code on a Linux computer. There is already proof of concept code that puts this theory into practice, and it is expected that real world attacks are just around the corner.

The Sophos product teams have been thoroughly investigating to determine which of our products are affected and what is necessary to address those that are.

Many Sophos products do not use Linux, or the glibc software at the heart of the vulnerability, and are therefore unaffected. This includes Sophos Endpoint Protection (Antivirus) for Windows, Mac and Unix; Secure Email Gateway; PureMessage for Microsoft Exchange; Mobile Control and likely others that we are still verifying.

However, Sophos UTM, Sophos UTM Manager (SUM), Secure Web Gateway, Sophos Secure OS for AWS, the Sophos Cloud management infrastructure, and the SAV for vShield virtual appliance are all built on the Linux platform and include the glibc software that is responsible for the vulnerability. The extent to which this vulnerability can be exploited varies from product to product. In all cases, the product teams are working quickly to update vulnerable software. For information about update availability, see this knowledgebase article »

Our products that customers install and run on their own installations of Linux (e.g., SAV for Linux, PureMessage for Unix) are not believed to introduce a vulnerability. However, the customer’s underlying Linux system may be vulnerable. Customers are encouraged to test and install vendor-supplied security patches for their Linux distributions to protect against GHOST and other vulnerabilities.

SophosLabs is monitoring for methods and attacks targeting this vulnerability and will use the full capabilities of our product line to deliver protection for customers.

Please see this knowledgebase article for the latest information on which products and versions are affected and what, if any, actions are required for customers to remain secure.

To learn more about the GHOST vulnerability, read the excellent write-up on Naked Security »

www.Sophos.com

Roku, Chromecast Or Fire TV: Which Streaming Stick Is Right For You?

If you’re looking to add streaming capability to your TV without taking up extra shelf space, a streaming stick can be a good—and less expensive—alternative to the standard set-top box . Roku, Google GOOGL -1.37%, and now Amazon all make sticks that let you watch movies and TV from services like Netflix NFLX -2.88%, Hulu Plus, and Amazon Prime Instant Video. Not much larger than a portable flash drive, these sticks plug into your TV’s HDMI port and stream video using your Wi-Fi connection. You lose the beefier processors, extra storage and inputs that come with the larger set-top boxes. But the sticks still provide HD output, a wide selection of content to watch and the ability to share your personal photos and videos on the big screen. Which one should you buy? The answer comes down to how you’ll be using it.

If the thought of adding yet another remote control to your entertainment room arsenal makes you shudder, or you simply hate onscreen TV menus, you’ll be happy to know that Google’s Chromecast does away with both. You control Chromecast entirely with your phone or tablet, using it to play/pause and typing on its keyboard to browse, search and enter any necessary login info. After installing the Chromecast app (Android, iOS) to pair your device with the stick, you’ll find an icon on many of your media apps that lets you “cast” their content directly to your TV. And because your TV is now doing the actual streaming, you can use your phone or tablet for other things while the content is playing. Friends and family can cast to your TV from their devices too, as long as they’re on the same Wi-Fi network.

Verdict: The Roku and Fire TV sticks offer the best of both worlds with a physical remote and mobile app for easier searches. Currently, the Fire TV app is limited to Android devices, making the Roku Streaming Stick the most flexible option.

Content

There’s very little practical difference among these sticks in terms of the content you can watch. While Roku boasts of 1,800 channels, there are only a handful you’d ever actually watch. All three sticks cover popular services like Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon Prime Instant Video, and ESPN. And you can watch YouTube videos on each of them as well. Amazon doesn’t offer HBO Go yet, so if Game of Thrones is a must-watch, you’ll want to look elsewhere. And Comcast subscribers should note that the cable provider currently blocks HBO Go access to its customers on all Roku (and Sony Playstation) devices. Chromecast stands out in that you can cast web content from any computer that’s using Google’s Chrome browser. So for apps that Chromecast doesn’t directly support, like Amazon Instant Video for example, you can still enjoy a movie on your TV by launching Amazon’s site on your Mac or Windows machine. The Fire TV Stick, as you’d imagine, makes it very easy to find and watch content from Amazon’s own video service, and its speedy dual-core processor and large memory cache allow those movies and shows to start running almost immediately after you press play.

Verdict: For Amazon Prime subscribers, the Fire TV Stick offers the fastest way to find and watch Amazon’s free content. HBO subscribers will need either the Roku Streaming Stick or Chromecast to watch current fare like Game of Thrones. If you want to cast content from your computer, Chromecast is the option for you.

Don’t be fooled by product shots showing a cord-free streaming setup. These sticks all need to draw power. If your TV has a USB port, you can use that. Doing so, however, means that the stick must power up every time you turn on the TV, a process that can take  several seconds. For the most seamless performance you’ll need to use a good old AC wall adapter (included) plugged into an outlet. These sticks are all around 3 inches in length, something to be aware of if you have a wall-mounted TV with rear-facing ports. Fortunately, both the Chromecast and Fire TV sticks come with HDMI extenders that bend so the sticks can hang vertically, taking up less space. If you bought a dual band wireless router to prevent interference with your Wi-Fi connection, you’ll lose that benefit with the Chromecast which only operates on the lower2.4 GHz band.

Roku’s Streaming Stick is the most expensive of the three. If you want to setup streaming access for multiple TVs in your house, its $50 price tag can add up. Google priced Chromecast very aggressively, and at $35 it often ranks as the top-selling electronics product on Amazon, a fact that surely influenced the Fire TV Stick’s $39 price.

Verdict: If you’re looking to buy more than one, $35 for the Chromecast is hard to pass up as long as you don’t need dual band Wi-Fi.

In the end, the choice of which one to buy depends largely on your preference for a physical versus smartphone app remote and whether you’re an Amazon Prime member. No matter which stick you decide to get you’ll be able to enjoy a wealth of movies and TV shows and likely come one step closer to getting rid of cable altogether.