One of the most highly anticipated software releases of 2012 is Windows 8, Microsoft’s new operating system. It promises to bring about a massive change in the way people use computers. Understandably, more than a few companies and users are excited for the release, however, until now, they had no idea how much it would cost to upgrade both the OS and their servers.

Microsoft has finally announced the cost to upgrade from previous versions of the Windows OS - XP and Windows 7 - and the cost of Windows server 2012.

Upgrade to Windows 8 Microsoft has announced that systems running Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7 will be able to upgrade to Windows 8 for as low as USD $40. Users will be able to download the upgrade from the Microsoft store at a cost of USD $40, until January 31 2013. The upgrade will also be available on DVD in retail stores at a cost of USD $69.99.

Microsoft also announced that users currently using personal versions of Windows 7 - Starter through Home Premium - will be able to upgrade to Windows 8 or Windows 8 Pro and keep their personal settings, files and applications. XP and Vista users can upgrade to both versions of Windows 8, but only personal files will be migrated over. If your business currently uses Windows 7 Professional or Enterprise, you can upgrade to Windows 8 Enterprise, and keep all files, applications and settings.

There are a few things to be aware of with the upgrade. The first is that users who want to upgrade from different architecture versions - 32 bit to 64 bit - will be able to do so, however, none of their files, applications or settings will remain. The second is, if you buy a copy of Windows 7 between June 2, 2012 and July 31, 2012, you can purchase Windows 8 Pro for USD $15.99.

Windows Server 2012 Anytime Microsoft releases a new operating system, they also release a version for servers that’s compatible with the new OS. Windows Server 2012, unofficially dubbed Windows Server 8, is the new server OS, and will be available in four versions.

1. Datacenter. This version is aimed at companies that operate in “highly virtualized environments and hybrid cloud environments”. It can support an unlimited number of virtual instances and will cost USD $4,809.
2. Standard. This version is exactly the same as the Datacenter version, only it’s for companies with light or no virtualization and will cost USD $882.
3. Essentials. Essentials is for small business environments, supports up to 25 users, comes preconfigured to connect to cloud based services and will cost $425 USD.
4. Foundation. Foundation is the most general version of Windows Server 2012, and will come preinstalled in general servers. At this time, it will only be available for server manufacturers, with no cost being announced.

With the announcement of the different versions of Windows Server 2012, Microsoft also announced that they will no longer be supporting Windows Small Business Server, thus, forcing users to upgrade. If your company is looking to upgrade to a Windows 8 environment, please contact us, we may have a solution for you.

Cloud computing is not a new thing, many providers like Microsoft’s SkyDrive have been around in one form or another since 2007. It’s taken until this year for cloud storage to really take off however. With increasing competition and major players wading into the game, SkyDrive has been updated to become one of the most solid competitors.

SkyDrive is a free online (cloud) storage service from Microsoft that lets you access your files from multiple locations. It works by downloading a program to your desktop, and allowing you to drag and drop files into it. Files will be uploaded to the cloud and available on mobile phone apps, or on your browser. If you make a change to a document on one of these, it’ll be updated automatically. Beyond that, you can also access files on your PC if it and SkyDrive are both turned on.

SkyDrive is also a collaboration tool, it allows you to create Microsoft Office documents right in the browser, share them with colleagues and collaboratively work on them. You can upload and share files up to 2GB in size from your computer and 300MB in size from SkyDrive.com.

A few weeks ago, Microsoft updated SkyDrive to have better syncing and integration across platforms. They also introduced a new pricing scheme, making it one of the most competitive options available. New users now get 7GB of storage space, with the ability to upgrade to a maximum of 100GB storage for USD 50 per year.

If you have a Hotmail account, or SkyDrive account that was activated before April 22, 2012, you’re eligible for 25GB storage for free. Simply log in to either Hotmail and press SkyDrive, or log in to skydrive.com and select Manage storage. You should have the option to upgrade to 25GB for free. Microsoft has said this is only for a limited time, but hasn’t defined how long “limited time” is.

If you’re interested in setting up SkyDrive in your company, or would like more information, please schedule an appointment with us, we’re ready to help you.

The most widely used operating system is Microsoft’s Windows. It’s safe to say the OS is dominant in nearly every aspect of business. This year Microsoft is poised to add another system to the lineup with Windows 8. The OS will support a new layout and have many useful features for all users. This April, Microsoft announced which versions of Windows 8 will be available.

There are going to be four editions of Windows 8 available at launch:

1. Windows 8. This edition offers all the features the majority of Windows users will need. It will be comparable to Windows 7 Home and Home Premium.
2. Windows 8 Pro. Pro will have Windows 8 components, but also offers more advanced options that businesses and expert users will appreciate. Some of the extras include encryption, virtualization and PC management. Pro will be most useful in a business environment.
3. Windows RT. This version of Windows 8 will come pre-installed on mobile devices and tablets with an ARM processor, which is used primarily in mobile technology. Many of Windows 8’s features will be available on RT, although some older Windows applications will not be compatible. If your company uses Windows tablets or smartphones, chances are you’ll use this OS.
4. Windows 8 Enterprise. Enterprise is an enhanced version of Windows 8 Pro that will be specifically for businesses with Software Assurance agreements. Noted features include stronger virtualization tools, PC management and deployment, and advanced security. At this time there’s no further information on this version, but it looks like a good choice for IT companies.

There’s no official release date for Windows 8 at this time, but it’s expected sometime in the last quarter of this year. If you would like to know more about Windows 8, or any other Microsoft programs please contact us.

When we hear the word “Windows” many of us don’t think of the pieces of glass separating us from the outside world, we think of the Operating System. Windows has become the main OS for people and business alike, with many adopting or upgrading to Windows 7. As with all programs, there are times when it decides to take a short holiday and stops working, what do you do then?

It can be extremely frustrating when you are working on an important document, Windows 7 stops working and you’re forced to reboot. Before you restart your computer, here are three useful things to try.

Using the Resource Manager If your computer starts to act sluggish or slow, and is taking a long time to open a program or respond, it may be because it’s taking up a large amount of processing power, forcing other programs you have open or running to use less - this is commonly known as a “bottleneck”. To figure out where the bottlenecks are when your computer is slow is relatively easy:

• Click Start and type: RESMON and select RESMON.exe. A window with all running programs and processes, graphs and tabs will pop up. This is called the Resource Manager.
• Under the Overview tab, you will see a list of programs. Click Status and the programs will be ordered by their status, an easy way to quickly figure out what is working and what isn’t.
• Once you have identified the bottlenecks, you can look for solutions using the Internet or contact the people responsible for your IT. It will make their job easier if you can tell them exactly what’s wrong.

If you want to find more information on why a program isn’t working, click the CPU tab, beside Overview. You will be presented with a dialog box similar to the task manager from XP. Select a program which isn’t responding, right-click on it and select Analyze Process. Windows will run an analysis and try to tell you why that program isn’t working. This goes a long way in figuring out what is happening, and also gives you more information if you have to call your IT team.

If you have a program that has completely stopped working:

• Open the Resource Monitor; click start and type RESMON.
• Click the CPU tab, and the program should be highlighted in red.
• Right-click and press Analyze Wait Chain.
• If there are more than two processes, the lowest one on the bottom is the process that isn’t working.
• Click the box beside it and select End process. The program should re-open.

A word of warning on the Resource Monitor: don’t go stopping programs or processes just because they take up what looks like a lot of processing power. They could be essential to the operation of Windows, and if stopped you could make the problem worse. If in doubt, make a note of the program, search the Internet for more information, or ask your IT department for help.

Open Program in New Process If you are working on an important project and would prefer not to have it crash when another program does, you could start the program in a new process. This essentially creates another window in the same environment. If one crashes, it won’t affect the other. To open in another process, hold down Shift and right click on the program, and select Open in a new window. The downside to this is that it will consume more system resources, so your computer will run slower.

Record Your Steps One neat and underutilized feature is the Problem Steps Recorder. When activated it will record mouse movements and clicks, key presses, folders opened and even take screenshots. When the problem is solved, it will put them all the recordings into a file and email them to you. This is extremely useful if a problem keeps happening, and you have your IT team come in to help. To turn on the recorder:

• Press Start and type in PSR, select PSR.exe
• Press record.

If all else fails, and you can’t fix the problem, then you can try restarting the computer or calling IT. As ever, don’t forget to save your work often, and ensure your data is backed up regularly. If you would like to learn more about Windows 7, or other Microsoft products, please contact us.

On February 29, 2012 Microsoft will launch a Customer Preview of its new Operating System, Windows 8. The Customer Preview, commonly called a Beta, is a pre-release product aimed to let Windows users test and learn the operating system before the release of the retail version, scheduled for late 2012. The OS has been driving lots of interest and businesses are eager to get their hands it. But the big question is, what features does it have that will help my business?

Windows To Go Windows To Go is a new feature aimed specifically at businesses. It will allow Windows 8 to be placed onto a USB drive and run from the USB on any computer with a USB port. This is great for Small Businesses as they will be able to save costs, and managers and employees will be able to use the OS anywhere.

No need to update your hardware It seems, to many businesses’ dismay, that whenever a new OS is released the hardware to run it needs to be upgraded. This can be costly, especially with the rate that new OSs are released. With Windows 8, users will not need to update their hardware if they have systems that can run Windows 7. This should bring about great cost savings to any business that wants to upgrade.

Cross Platform Integration with Mobile Phones and Tablets Windows 8 will run on tablets and phones, allowing for users to choose and use the system that works best for them. What this means is that Windows 8 on a tablet, phone, computer will look the same and be able to run or share the same programs, making cross platform integration easy.

Sync to the cloud Microsoft recently released their take on cloud integration, SkyDrive, which will work as a single drive for all Windows devices. Users will have all their files in one place and will be able to access them from any Windows device.

These features will be a great help for businesses, but businesses eager to join the Customer Preview should be aware that this Windows 8 will only be a beta and is not the finished product as such, there will be bugs and some software incompatibilities. If you would like to know upgrade, or know more about Windows 8 and other Microsoft programs please contact us.