Bryley Basics: Undo a sent email via Microsoft Exchange or Google Gmail

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Google recently introduced a new feature, Undo Send, which permits the sender to retract a sent email; Microsoft has a similar, though somewhat limited, feature with the ability to recall or replace a sent email named Recall This Message.

Google’s Undo Send works for all emails, but it is time-constrained:  Google permits up to 30 seconds after an email is sent to Undo Send; however, any email-oriented activity other than Undo will end the countdown prematurely.

The Undo option is displayed along with View this Message after every sent Gmail-based email.  You must first access your Gmail account settings and enable Undo Send to make it work.

Bartie Scott of Inc. highlights Undo Send in her article: “How to Unsend an Email in Under 30 Seconds Flat”.

Microsoft’s Recall This Message tries to stop delivery and, optionally, can replace a recalled email message.   Recall This Message requires an Exchange Server and stops email messages sent, but only email sent internally within your organization.  Also, the success of a recall depends on the recipient’s settings in Outlook:

  • If Automatically process requests… is enabled, recall will be successful
  • If disabled, the recipient will receive both the original email and the recall request; the original email is deleted only if the recipient opens the recall message first.

Given the short timeframe of Undo Send and the limitations of Recall This Message, your best option is to avoid recalling a message by:

  • Double-checking the To, Copy, and BCC recipients,
  • Ensuring that you have attached the desired file (if any), and
  • Giving yourself enough time to cool off before sending a heated email.

Microsoft Windows 10

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Microsoft is releasing Windows 10 on July 29th.  It is available as a free upgrade to licensed users of Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 through the Get Windows 10 (GWX) application which is part of Windows Updates.  (Note: Some companies, including Bryley Systems, are temporarily blocking this update to permit a controlled migration to Windows 10.)

To minimize bandwidth and processing disruptions, those who reserve now for this 3Gb upgrade periodically receive parts of it until the entire upgrade is downloaded and ready for installation on 7/29/2015.

Windows 10 will run most Windows XP applications.  The Windows 10 Home Edition will likely sell at $119; the Pro edition at $199.

Read the article from Mark Hachman at PCWorld “It’s official: Microsoft Says You Can Download the Final Version of Windows 10 on July 29.”

Anna D achieves Microsoft Sales Specialist

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ad16Anna D, Account Executive at Bryley Systems, successfully completed the training and testing to become a Microsoft Specialist for SMB Infrastructure.

Congratulations Anna!

Case-study contest with a $25 drawing in April

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Read our recent case study.  Then answer three questions to be entered into our drawing for a $25 VISA gift-card.

Bryley Basics: Introducing Microsoft Windows 10

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With the usual hoopla, Microsoft previewed Windows 10 at its Redmond, WA offices on Wednesday, January 21st.  What they unveiled was a solid attempt to provide one operating system for both PCs and for mobile devices that adapts to the device on which it is installed.

Prominent, new features include:

  • Internet Explorer 12 and a new, less-obtrusive browser – Spartan
  • A new, Siri-like, context-aware, digital assistant – Cortana
  • A platform-sensing/shaping utility – Continuum

There is an effort to bring Windows users into the future by fixing past mistakes:

  • The Start menu reappears and displays the traditional desktop, but includes a list of apps on the left (similar to the traditional Start menu) along with the tiles (now named Modern rather than Metro apps) found in Windows 8
  • The Charms bar, a source of controversy in Windows 8, has been removed

Also, Windows 10 may be offered as a service (WaaS); updated will be constantly and automatically applied, potentially with a monthly or yearly subscription.  (Preston Gralla of Computerworld expands on this topic in his 1/21/2015 article “Forget Windows 10 – Here Are the Four Most Important Words Microsoft Said Today.”)

For more information, please see Preston Gralla’s preview in the ComputerWorld article: “Windows 10 Deep-Dive Review: Finally, a Unified Operating Systems.”

How a small business can protect their online identity

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In part four of his interview with The Cleaning Crew, Bryley Systems Inc. President, Gavin Livingstone, explains some of the steps a small business can take to protect their online identity.

YouTube video

What are the threats associated with cyber security?

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In part three of his interview with The Cleaning Crew, Bryley Systems President, Gavin Livingstone, answers the question “what are some of the threats associated with cyber security?”

 

YouTube video

The (near-term) future of computer technology – Microsoft versus Google

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The crystal ball is still foggy, but here are my thoughts on Microsoft versus Google and (what I believe is) the battle for world domination.  (Microsoft sales are around $77B, primarily from Windows software (25%), business software (32%), and server software (25%); Google is about $55B with approximately 87% of its revenue from advertising.)

Notice, I did not include Apple:  The big play is between Microsoft and Google and it is occurring across multiple lines:

  • Google (search) versus Bing
  • Microsoft Office versus Google Apps
  • Google Android versus Microsoft Windows

Google (search) versus Bing

In the search-engine market, there is no comparison with Google (#1) capturing an average of 67% of monthly queries in the US while Bing (#2) captures only 17%.  In search, queries equate to advertising revenue, the heart of Google’s success.  (Search is currently not a significant part of Microsoft’s sales.)

Google’s familiar, plain-white background seems functional, but also trendy with the occasional changes to the GOOGLE moniker.  Bing’s full-screen, image-based background usually displays beautiful vistas or current events; the scrollable “Popular Now” bar across the bottom adds an items-of-interest aspect.

Bing (aka Microsoft) suggests comparing the two.

Winner (by a wide margin) is Google; Bing is interesting, but it will take some major work to break Google’s dominance in this area.

Microsoft Office versus Google Apps

When it comes to productivity applications; Microsoft Office 2013 owns the market at 92% while the newer Office 365, Microsoft’s Cloud-based answer to Google Apps, exceeds $1B per year.  (For details, please see the April 19, 2013Forbes article at forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2013/04/19/microsoft-shakes-off-pc-slump-as-office-and-servers-sales-swell/.)

Microsoft continues to focus on Office 365; pricing now starts at $96 per year, new features have been added, and partners can sell this service directly to users.

Although Microsoft productivity applications dominate on the desktop, Google Apps is a serious contender to Office 2013 and Office 365 with an estimated 33% to 50% share of Cloud-based productivity apps.  The primary difference: Google Apps was Cloud-based from the start; it doesn’t have all of the features of Microsoft Office, but is relevant on more platforms, is free to consumers, and costs just $50 per

year for users of Google Apps for Business.

So, Google Apps plays well in a heterogeneous, consumer/small-business world.  Also, Google has moved its popular Postini anti-spam service into Google Apps, a move that has angered and confused many of its (former) Postini clients, but one that makes sense from the perspective of beefing up Google Apps for Business to battle against Office 365.

For details, please see the 4/23/2013 article by Kurt Mackie of Redmond Magazine at “Gains For Google In Cloud Office” – redmondmag.com. To compare Office 365 to Google Apps, please visit “Office 365 vs Google Apps” – youtube.com

Winner (by a strong, but potentially diminishing margin) is Microsoft; Microsoft dominates the desktop, but mobile users are changing the landscape.

Google Android versus Microsoft Windows

In terms of projected sales of mobile devices, Google’s Android (DROID) owns the market at 79% while Microsoft Windows is at just 3.3%.  However, if you include desktop computers, a declining market, Windows is still prevalent across organizations throughout the world.

Google introduced Android in 2007; it is a Linux-based, open-source operating system designed for touchscreen devices.  Its strength is its robustness and ease-of-use, which led to a brisk rate of adoption by users and application developers.

Windows 8 was introduced in October of 2012.  It was designed to be compatible with its predecessors (Windows XP and Windows 7) while introducing a touch-enabled, tile-based, user interface that has been more frustrating than enabling.  To date, it has failed to meet even modest expectations.  (Windows 8.1, a free, significant upgrade to Windows 8, will release on October 17th with the hope of changing this trend.)

Currently a draw if you include both mobile devices and desktop computers:  Microsoft owns the desktop while Google owns mobile devices; Windows 8.1 provides hope, but might be too little too late to penetrate the mobility market.

If nothing else, expect prices to decrease as the competition heats up.

Bryley Systems participates in the MetroWest Career Pathways at Hudson High School

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Bryley Systems participated in the MetroWest Career Pathways at Hudson High School, a fair held on November 19th for area juniors and seniors that are on track to graduate high school, but may not have a clear pathway for what to do after graduation.  Pictured are co-owners Cathy and Gavin Livingstone; they met a lot of  students who expressed an interest in a career in information technology.

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More ergonomics from Marty Reed

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Marty Reed of Top Enterprise, an ergonomics specialist, visited Bryley early in September for a demonstration on proper ergonomics.  She then visited our cubicles and made individual recommendations.

Her overall suggestions included:

  • Monitor:
    • Set distance at one arm-length from body to monitor.
    • Set height so eyes focus at about 2” below top of monitor.
  • Keyboard:
    • Use wrist rests to get hands up and over keyboards.
    • Keyboard should lay flat on the desktop; do not tilt up back.
  • Chair:
    • Use chair arms periodically to rest arms.
    • Forearms and thighs should be parallel to the ground.
    • Adjust for lower-back support or add a lumbar-support device.
  • General:
    • Look away into the distance at least every hour to reduce eye strain.
    • Get up from your workstation periodically and walk around.