Microsoft says its year-long offer will expire on July 29, 2016. After that date, unless a new offer materializes, you will need to pay for a Windows 10 upgrade of $119 for a Home upgrade or $199 for the Pro edition. Over three hundred million users have already converted to Windows 10, so it appears to be safe to upgrade now.
If you stick with an old version, just because you are comfortable, get over it. Older versions become more and more susceptible to malware attacks, which are much worse to deal with, as well as being more expensive than just upgrading for free.
Showing posts with label Microsoft. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Microsoft. Show all posts
May 20, 2016
Mar 13, 2015
Five Company Name Origins
Etsy, The online crafts marketplace tried to use a “complicated name-generating script” that never worked. Rather than fix the kinks, they ran with the program’s codename, Etsy, and told the media it was an interpretation of the Italian (“oh yes”) and Latin (“and if”) sayings.
Microsoft, Paul Allen not Bill Gates, came up with the name for their billion-dollar PC dynasty. He found inspiration from the creation of MICROprocessors and saw the future of computers in SOFTware, leading to the blend of terms.
Instagram, Seeking a title that personified the belief of “right here, right now,” the folks behind Instagram merged the terms “instant camera” and “telegram” to play off the app’s speedy interaction. It took them a week and half to think of something that could be recognized and “spellable” for bar crowds.
Sony, Combine the Latin term for sound ‘sonus’ with the American slang for bright youngster ‘sonny’ and you have the name for a billion-dollar electronics business. Founder Akio Morita believed ‘Sony’ was a way of letting the public know they “were sonny boys working in sound and vision” in the industry at the time. It is also an easy pronunciation in all languages.
Twitter, The social network considered Twitch. Former CEO Jack Dorsey was not sold on it, so he had the team pick a name from a hat and ‘Twitter’ became its dual-meaning of bird chirping and chattering to describe the service.
Microsoft, Paul Allen not Bill Gates, came up with the name for their billion-dollar PC dynasty. He found inspiration from the creation of MICROprocessors and saw the future of computers in SOFTware, leading to the blend of terms.
Instagram, Seeking a title that personified the belief of “right here, right now,” the folks behind Instagram merged the terms “instant camera” and “telegram” to play off the app’s speedy interaction. It took them a week and half to think of something that could be recognized and “spellable” for bar crowds.
Sony, Combine the Latin term for sound ‘sonus’ with the American slang for bright youngster ‘sonny’ and you have the name for a billion-dollar electronics business. Founder Akio Morita believed ‘Sony’ was a way of letting the public know they “were sonny boys working in sound and vision” in the industry at the time. It is also an easy pronunciation in all languages.
Twitter, The social network considered Twitch. Former CEO Jack Dorsey was not sold on it, so he had the team pick a name from a hat and ‘Twitter’ became its dual-meaning of bird chirping and chattering to describe the service.
Dec 12, 2014
Free Microsoft Books
Came across this site recently and
thought it is worth passing along. The site offers over one
hundred Microsoft e-books for free. Topics like Windows 8.1,
Windows 8, Windows 7, Office 2013, Office 365, Office 2010,
SharePoint 2013, Keyboard shortcuts, CRM, PowerShell, etc. Likely
will appeal more to the technical bunch, but also useful to get
the most out of software you may already be using. For instance,
instructions for using Windows voice commands to tell your
computer to perform many actions. LINK
May 14, 2013
Interesting Internet Tidbits
According to Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, more information now crosses the Internet
every second than the entire Internet stored 20 years ago. It
says, every hour Wal-Mart Stores Inc. collects 50 million filing
cabinets' worth of information from its dealings with customers.
Cloud computing is the practice of using a network of remote servers hosted on the Internet to store, manage, process data, and run applications, rather than a local device. The services usually charge monthly fees.
Microsoft has unveiled a system that can translate what you say into Mandarin and play it back in your voice.
The Google Now personal assistant can tell you if there's a traffic jam on your regular route home and suggest an alternative.
Apple's Siri can reschedule an appointment.
IBM's Watson supercomputer can field an awkwardly worded question, figure out what you are trying to ask, and retrieve the answer for you.
Cloud computing is the practice of using a network of remote servers hosted on the Internet to store, manage, process data, and run applications, rather than a local device. The services usually charge monthly fees.
Microsoft has unveiled a system that can translate what you say into Mandarin and play it back in your voice.
The Google Now personal assistant can tell you if there's a traffic jam on your regular route home and suggest an alternative.
Apple's Siri can reschedule an appointment.
IBM's Watson supercomputer can field an awkwardly worded question, figure out what you are trying to ask, and retrieve the answer for you.
Mar 22, 2013
Microsoft Suit
Microsoft threatened to sue a high school
student named Mike Rowe for registering MikeRoweSoft.com. It claimed
that it was copyright infringement because it sounded phonetically
the same as Microsoft. The student was a part-time web designer and
thought it would be funny to add Soft at the end of his name.
When Microsoft found out about the domain, it asked him to give up the domain and offered to give him $10 to cover the registration expenses. He counter offered with $10,000, because he was upset at Microsoft's offer. Microsoft accused him of being a cybersquatter.
The case resulted in a PR loss for Microsoft, as the media portrayed it negatively. In the end, Microsoft flew Mike to its headquarters, gave him training as a developer, and an Xbox in exchange for the domain.
When Microsoft found out about the domain, it asked him to give up the domain and offered to give him $10 to cover the registration expenses. He counter offered with $10,000, because he was upset at Microsoft's offer. Microsoft accused him of being a cybersquatter.
The case resulted in a PR loss for Microsoft, as the media portrayed it negatively. In the end, Microsoft flew Mike to its headquarters, gave him training as a developer, and an Xbox in exchange for the domain.
Aug 2, 2011
Print Your Screen
How to print what you see on your screen.
First, find the Print Screen key on your keyboard, which might be labeled PrtScn.
To capture the entire screen (everything you see on the screen, including all open windows), press the PrtScn button. This screenshot will be placed in your clipboard.
Alternatively, to capture just the active or foremost window, press Alt+PrtScn. Now you can paste the image into an email or document, or open an image editing program like Microsoft Paint and either go to the Edit menu then select Paste, or press Ctrl+V to paste the image into the program. Now you can manipulate the image.
Windows Vista and Windows 7 come with another screen capturing tool, the Snipping Tool. With the Snipping Tool, you can define areas of the screen to capture (an irregular shape, rectangle that you draw, selected window, or the entire screen), annotate the screen capture. Since you can save the image directly from the program, the Snipping Tool also saves you the step of having to open Paint or a different program and pasting the image from the clipboard.
To use the Snipping Tool: Full size - Click Start, then All Programs, then Accessories, and then Snipping Tool. Click the down arrow next to the New button to select your snipping type. Then use your mouse to select the area of your screen or window you want to capture. Click and go.
First, find the Print Screen key on your keyboard, which might be labeled PrtScn.
To capture the entire screen (everything you see on the screen, including all open windows), press the PrtScn button. This screenshot will be placed in your clipboard.
Alternatively, to capture just the active or foremost window, press Alt+PrtScn. Now you can paste the image into an email or document, or open an image editing program like Microsoft Paint and either go to the Edit menu then select Paste, or press Ctrl+V to paste the image into the program. Now you can manipulate the image.
Windows Vista and Windows 7 come with another screen capturing tool, the Snipping Tool. With the Snipping Tool, you can define areas of the screen to capture (an irregular shape, rectangle that you draw, selected window, or the entire screen), annotate the screen capture. Since you can save the image directly from the program, the Snipping Tool also saves you the step of having to open Paint or a different program and pasting the image from the clipboard.
To use the Snipping Tool: Full size - Click Start, then All Programs, then Accessories, and then Snipping Tool. Click the down arrow next to the New button to select your snipping type. Then use your mouse to select the area of your screen or window you want to capture. Click and go.
Mar 15, 2011
Kinect
This revolutionary technology is mostly unknown to people that do not play computer games. Kinect uses a 3D camera and motion recognition software to let people play videogames on the Xbox 360 using natural body movements and voice commands instead of hand-held controllers. Watch for many hackers developing cool ways to use this gesture sensing technology for interacting with computers.
Microsoft tells us that sales of the gesture-sensing Kinect for the Xbox 360 videogame console makes it the fastest-selling consumer electronics device ever and it has sold more than 10 million standalone Kinect games worldwide.
Microsoft sold an average of 133,333 Kinect units per day between the day of its launch on November 4 and January 3. No other consumer electronics device sold faster within a 60-day time span. Amazing that profoundly changing technology comes out as a game first. Move over Apple, Microsoft has a hit.
Microsoft tells us that sales of the gesture-sensing Kinect for the Xbox 360 videogame console makes it the fastest-selling consumer electronics device ever and it has sold more than 10 million standalone Kinect games worldwide.
Microsoft sold an average of 133,333 Kinect units per day between the day of its launch on November 4 and January 3. No other consumer electronics device sold faster within a 60-day time span. Amazing that profoundly changing technology comes out as a game first. Move over Apple, Microsoft has a hit.
Jun 8, 2009
Live Search
I'll bet you think Microsoft owns it. Wrong. LiveSearch.com domain name belongs to Tyler Tullock of Bothell, Wash., who says he has rejected several offers for the site. Tullock took control of the domain name about 13 years ago, when he was running an internet-marketing company, LocalSeek Advertising. He used Livesearch.com and other domains to advertise his services, which included a relocation business.
Microsoft introduced Live Search in 2006, hosting the search engine on Live.com, a domain that it does own .
Tullock runs a chain of seven music schools in the Seattle area, and parks Google (NSDQ: GOOG) ads on LiveSearch.com. “It makes me plenty of money sending all that Microsoft business to Google,” he says, but won’t disclose how much the site brings in. Maybe that's why Microsoft is thinking of changing the name and is set to launch an $80 million to $100 million campaign for Bing, the search engine it hopes will help it grab a bigger slice of the online ad market.
Microsoft introduced Live Search in 2006, hosting the search engine on Live.com, a domain that it does own .
Tullock runs a chain of seven music schools in the Seattle area, and parks Google (NSDQ: GOOG) ads on LiveSearch.com. “It makes me plenty of money sending all that Microsoft business to Google,” he says, but won’t disclose how much the site brings in. Maybe that's why Microsoft is thinking of changing the name and is set to launch an $80 million to $100 million campaign for Bing, the search engine it hopes will help it grab a bigger slice of the online ad market.
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