Category Archives: Software

Meet Windows 8. Windows Re-imagined

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Meet Windows 8. Windows Re-imagined.

With Microsoft launch of a new modern OS a great leap forward in computing evolution has begun.  Never before has there been a unified platform in which devices can be powered by Windows with a familiar user interface in a simple but intuitive experience.

While the Start Menu which first debut 20 years ago has long gone to be replaced by the all new Start Screen. We really don’t think you will miss it.

The Start Screen is home to all new Windows Apps. Microsoft has pre-installed a good selection including a touch friendly email client which also has built in Exchange Support so you can integrate email from any system.

Microsoft has added great new capabilities to empower the ease of computing for an everyday user such as integration with Microsoft account for the synchronization of user data. You can now customize and configure on one Windows 8 device, login with the same Microsoft account to a different device and automatically have settings and customizations show instantly. No more setting up each device separately if you have multiple Windows 8 machines.

The all new Internet Explorer 10 can be accessed via the Start Screen or the Desktop. For touch users, IE has been simplified for ease of use with a bold and refined interface. For a more traditional experience Internet Explorer is fully featured within the Desktop environment and has been considerably refined on performance and stability. There’s no need to worry if it’s out of date since auto updates have now been incorporated.


The new Home tab
The new Share tabThe View tab

Windows Explorer has undergone a major renovation to be built upon the Ribbon interface. The multitude of menu options are now arranged into three panes; Home, Share and View. These all give access to the features which used to be in the menus. When accessing folders with particular content extra Ribbon panes become active for example in a folder of photos additional Picture Tools become active. Changes have also been made to maximize the number of files that can be displayed by removing unnecessary menus

For users who use ISO files Windows Explorer now has native mounting support so no need for 3rd party tools for this task.


The Windows Store is themed very much to a similar to the Start Screen with full functionality for touch based users and traditional desktop user. The store features a vast array of apps organised in categories such as social, entertainment, games and many more. Many of these are free and there is the option to try paid apps before purchasing. Apps can be placed in any particular location on the Start Screen with many of the social and news App featuring live tiles which show content feeds within their tile.


Windows Defender built-in Antivirus with Windows 8 is very similar to the popular Microsoft Security Essentials. Ideal to get started and can be replaced with any third party preferred antivirus.

What do you think of Windows 8? Comment below or on our Facebook page @ www.facebook.com/dovecomputers.

Windows XP SP3 and Office 2003 Support ends April 8, 2014

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What Does End of Support Mean?

In 2002 Microsoft introduced its Support Lifecycle policy based on customer feedback to have more transparency and predictability of support for Microsoft products.

As per this policy, Microsoft Business and Developer products, including Windows and Office products, receive a minimum of 10 years of support.

Windows XP SP3 and Office 2003 will go out of support on April 8, 2014, if your organization has not started the migration to a modern PC, you could be too late. The average enterprise deployment can take 18 to 32 months from business case through full deployment.

Ensure you remain on supported versions of Windows and Office and begin planning and application testing immediately.

After April 8, 2014, there will be no; new security updates, non-security hotfixes, free or paid assisted support options or online technical content updates.

Running Windows XP SP3 and Office 2003 in your environment after their end of support date may expose your company to potential risks such as Security & Compliance Risks and Lack of Independent Software Vendor (ISV) & Hardware Manufacturers support.

Get current with Windows 7 and Office 2010

• Stay supported
• More flexibility to empower employees to be more productive
• Increase operational efficiency through improved PC security and management
• Take advantage of the latest technology trends such as virtualization and the cloud.

 

Business Solutions: Microsoft Office 365 and Cloud Sharing Case Study: Hallmark Power Ltd

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Hallmark Power Limited are a renewable energy engineering company who offer a variety of renewable energy systems including wind turbines, solar PV and anaerobic digesters, as well as land rental opportunities.

Hallmark power office 365

Hallmark Power Ltd

They found themselves growing at a much faster rate than they had expected, with their staff going from 1 employee to 15 in less than a year. They needed to find a way for their small office and basic IT system to support all these new employees, as well as finding a way to cope with the new found rush in client demand.

They found that Microsoft Office 365 allowed them to bring together online office collaboration for email, document sharing and web conferencing.

office 365

Microsoft Office 365

They also found that DropBox cloud storage could be used to transfer large computer aided design (CAD) drawings between themselves and clients. This, plus the web conferencing feature of Office 365 allowed them to cut down travel costs and have more time to work on client projects, and allowed them to take on more clients to further grow their business.

For more information on how Dove can help your business, contact us on 0845 22 605 22 or email yjli@dovecomputers.com

Windows Server 2012 launches Sept 4th, almost 2 months prior to Windows 8

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Micrososft personal users are made to wait until October 26th for the new Windows 8 operating system to launch, but business users will get earlier access to the new Windows Server, Micrososft server-based OS, as it is scheduled to launch on September 4th.

Check out our detailed review of the new Windows Server 2012 here.

Windows Server 2012 launch date

Windows Server 2012 launch date

Microsoft states:

“On that day we will also host an online launch event where our executives, engineers, customers and partners will share more about how Windows Server 2012 can help organizations of all sizes realize the benefits of what we call the Cloud OS.  You will be able to learn more about the features and capabilities and connect with experts and peers.  You’ll also be able to collect points along the way for the chance to win some amazing prizes. You don’t want to miss it.”

You can sign up to check out the official launch event on September 4th at the Windows Server web site. Microsoft has already announced the different versions of Windows Server 2012, along with US pricing, but no signs of UK prices as yet. It has also confirmed that it will not make a new version of its Windows Home Server product.

Microsoft Windows Server 2012: The benefits, downfalls, and why it’s aimed at larger businesses

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Microsoft are due to launch their new updated server operating system, Windows Server 2012, on September 4th, and there is much hype surrounding the new anticipated product, which is marketed as a building block for private and hybrid clouds, as well as having the same controversial interface as the new Windows 8. But will it live up to expectations? Dove has put together an unbiased review of the new server to help you make up your mind.

windows server 2012

The Metro interface of Windows Server 2012

The Desktop and Beyond

The Metro interface featured on Windows 8 has not been welcomed in the way Microsoft might have hoped. However, as the interface for Windows Server 2012 it should be much more favourable, largely due to the move away from graphical to command line management on servers.

Windows Server 2012 will be 64-bit only and installed without graphical user interface (GUI), and with a minimal set of server roles. PowerShell is the preferred command management interface with the number of ready-made cmdlets increased and the ability to do a lot more from the PowerShell command line than through the various graphical tools.

The GUI is not lost forever though, as Microsoft haven’t forgotten that some smaller enterprises nd people not in favour of command line management will prefer a graphical interface, which can still be addedas can a “minimal” interface configured without a desktop or start screen to give a happy medium ground between the two extremes.

If you choose to use the local GUI you will be met with the Metro front end and will not be offered the option of by-passing it. But the new Server Manager tool means doesn’t pose any major problems.

The new and updated Server Manager also boasts all round capabilities, unlike previous versions, with the added ability to handle most day to day management tasks, either directly or by invoking other utilities. It also has the ability to manage remote and group servers, and perform the same task on all members of a group at once.

Windows Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) are enhanced to handle the new OS, but the downside comes for those who want to create their own private clouds, as they will need System Centre 2012 with a service pack to handle Server 2012 due ahead of the OS launch.

Improved Hypervisor

One of the big enhancements that has everyone’s attention is the new and improved Hyper-V hypervisor, aiming to take on VMware head to head for the top spot in the virtualisation space. Scalability gets a major boost in Hyper-V 3.0. Starting at the virtual machine level with support for up to 64 virtual processors and 1TB of virtual memory per VM. There’s also a new virtual disk format (VHDX) to give VMs access to 64TB of storage.

At the host level Hyper-V 3.0 can handle up to 160 processors/cores and 2TB of RAM, sharing these resources across 1,024 VMs. There are also big improvements when it comes to clustering with support for up to 64 nodes per cluster, up from just 16 in Windows Server 2008 R2, and up to 4,000 VMs, to meet the scalability demands of private cloud deployments.

Another big enhancement is the ability to store virtual machine files on file shares rather than iSCSI or SAN storage. Live can now be performed between standalone hosts and can even be done without any shared storage at all. There is also the addition of support for multiple live migrations, bringing Hyper-V up to a similar level of functionality as vSphere.

Enhanced storage

The storage side has had a makeover, with the new Resilient File System (ReFS), and many more enhancements have been made with the aim of improving availability. This, however, can’t be used for boot volumes.

There’s also a new implementation of the SMB file sharing protocol (SMB 3) and an all new option called Storage Spaces. Storage Spaces, also a feature of the new Windows 8 OS, allows for the creation of storage pools from both internal and external sources, and allows for virtual disks to be created. It doesn’t matter what type of hardware is involved (SATA, SAS, iSCSI etc are all supported) or how much capacity is on offer, virtual disks can be created that are much larger than the amount of actual space would normally allow.

It is possible to expand the storage pools by adding more disks and you get simple access to a variety of redundancy options including mirroring, hot sparing and the automatic re-claiming of lost space when data is deleted. Data de-duplication is also available as part of the File Services role in Windows Server 2012 and can be applied on both NTFS and ReFS volumes.

Windows Server 2012 editions

Windows Server 2012 editions

New licenses for old

An advantage of Windows Server 2012 licensing is the streamlined and simple choice Standard and DataCentre editions, with payment based on a per-socket basis.

The UK pricing for Windows Server 2012 is not yet available, but the US price for the Standard license is $882, and the US Datacenter licence is $4,809, both for deployment on servers with two processor sockets. Little extra is gained in terms of features with the Datacenter license, the main difference being support for an unlimited number of VMs whereas the Standard licence supports just two.

With the launch of Server 2012 will come the end of the Small Business Server. It will be replaced with the release of an Essentials version of Server 2012 (US price: $425) limited to just 25 users which won’t support virtualisation, and unlike the Small Business Server, won’t come with Exchange or any other applications. Small businesses who oft for the Essentials package are advised to pair it with Office 365. A 15-user Foundation implementation for OEM server vendors, again, without virtualisation rights, is also expected.

And then some…

There’s a lot more in Windows Server 2012 such as enhancements to Active Directory to fit it to large scale private cloud deployments, plus closer integration with Microsoft Azure. Built-in tools for NIC teaming have been added along with IP address management and new controls when it comes to network access including the ability to manage what users are allowed to do on different devices.

Windows Server 2012 is clearly more beneficial to larger businesses and those with requirements regarding private cloud deployment, and it doesn’t offer much to entice smaller business to upgrade. Moreover, although compatible with earlier implementations, to get the full benefit of what the new platform has to offer enterprises will need to deploy Windows Server 2012 extensively throughout their organisations.

Student savings on Microsoft University

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Student savings on Microsoft University from Dove Computer Solutions Ltd
microsoft university
The new Microsoft Office University package is intended for those in higher education, combining Microsoft’s top tools to help you create, edit and share your best work. Starting/going back to uni this September? Check our Back To Uni Essential Tech Kit and more exclusive student offers.

Project professionalism

Create expert assignments, presentations and group projects with the easy-to-use design tools, templates and photo editing features. Transform any presentation from simple to stylish with easy editing tools, text effects, and dramatic slide transitions.

Powerful tools in the Office University 2010 package include Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Publisher and Access.
The Mac version, Office University 2011 package include Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook.

Virtual access

Store files and documents online using advanced security features so you never lose them. Share your access or simply view and edit your documents from home, university, or any PC that’s connected to the Internet with SkyDrive.

Microsoft Office University helps make your assignments stand out from the crowd incorporating a selection of powerful tools you would never want to be without.

Restrictions: This product is restricted to sale to university students and university faculties only. Proof of eligibility is required online before purchase.

General
Version
2010 (Windows) 2011 (Mac)
Media
Boxed software with media
Licence
1 user, 2 PCs
Language(s)
English

Microsoft Office 365 v Google Apps for Business

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In the world of cloud productivity suites, Google Apps and Microsoft Office 365 are always the most popular choices, and many businesses find themselves weighing up which one would benefit their business more. Dove have put together a comparison of all aspects of both suites from a business point of view, and weighing up how each performs.

cloud suites google apps office 365

Microsoft Office 365 v Google Apps comparison

Familiarity and Training Requirements

Whether you are a small business with less than 10 employees, or a medium to large size business with into the hundreds on your books, staff training when it comes to new software can be time consuming and costly, taking up precious budget and work time to familiarise all your employees with a new system.

With Google Apps, retraining would be a necessity; this is built on a propriety platform that will to most users be alien. Microsoft Office 365 on the other hand is designed to imitate the look and feel of the age old favourite Office Suite, something most if not all your employees will be completely comfortable with, and only minimal if any retraining will be required.

 Browser Compatibility

The internet browser you use is down to personal preference, and you don’t want to have to start switching browsers to enable your new cloud suite to perform at its best.

Microsoft Office 365 is ideal for use with any browser and has performed seamlessly on Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer alike.

Google Apps however works perfectly on Google Chrome (go figure), but not all features are supported on Internet Explorer, and Firefox 5 users are forced to clear their history and cache before each log in if they want things to run smoother, but still not entirely as they should.

File Reliability

With Microsoft Office being the suite of choice of both business and personal users worldwide, it is important to take into account that integration will be a necessity.

Google Apps does not automatically convert, and in fact makes life a lot harder if you want files to be viewable in Microsoft Office programs. Employees will have to spend valuable time and efforts changing the documents themselves.

Microsoft Office 365 obviously has no problems in this department as it is built to mirror its own Office suites. An added bonus is the Word Web app (Office 365’s version of Microsoft Word) allows documents to be viewed without the need for download.

Real Time Collaboration

Google Apps does have some great features when it comes to real time collaboration. Google Docs can be shared and accessed by anyone with a Google account, and allows for similtanious work on one document, with unique colour coding to identify who makes what changes. The multiple chat functions also allow people to chat with their co-authors in real time.

Like the sound of all that Google Docs can offer? How would you like that and then some. Yes, Microsoft Office 365 has excelled again, offering all Google Apps’ real time collaboration capabilities, with the addition of the Lync Online component, which allows for audio/video conferencing and instant messaging with added whiteboard capabilities and real time presence indicators, letting you know who is online and when.

Licensing Options

Multiple licensing options and tailoring capabilities are a must, as businesses come in all varieties of shapes and sizes, each with their own needs.

Google Apps is very limited in this aspect. They only offer one licensing option with no tailoring capabilities, and due to Google Apps being solely online, clients are forced to move to the cloud immediately.

Microsoft Office 365 on the other hand offers multiple licensing options with tailoring available, helping your business use only what you need, and control the cost by adding/removing features. What’s more, there is no need for everyone to move to the cloud straight away. It allows for sharing both in the cloud and on premise using hybrid solutions, so if not everyone is ready to embrace the cloud, there is no pressure.
Security

Security is vital for a business, and may be one of your key reasons for considering a cloud suite in the first place, as offsite cloud services are one of the safest back up and sharing options available.

Google Apps offer limited support when it comes to group management, and that is all. No more robust identity management options. Another huge downfall is the fact that there are no options for tiered access to the cloud. Administrators either get all access or nothing.

Microsoft Office 365 on the other hand offer set role-based security models, allowing for tiered access to allow workers access to only the information they need.

Cost

Google Apps offers one business plan that will require additional add ons for customisation, meaning the original advertised price is often only a fraction of the overall cost.

Microsoft Office 365 offer many plans to choose from as they understand different business sizes need different features, and you also have the choice of removing and adding different features so you don’t pay for what you need, which can reduce the overall cost.

Decided Microsoft Office 365 is the cloud suite for you? Or just want to know more? Contact Dove on 0845 22 605 22 or visit www.dovecomputers.com for more details!

Microsoft Surface Tablet due for launch on 26th October

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The new Microsoft Surface tablet has been announced for release on 26th October, the same release date of Windows 8, confirms Microsoft.

microsoft surface tablet windows 8

Microsoft Surface Tablet – Click for more info

“The next version of our operating system, Windows 8, will be generally available on October 26, 2012. At that time, we will begin selling the Surface, a series of Microsoft-designed and manufactured hardware devices,” Microsoft said in its annual report filed this week with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Surface products will be on the market in two forms. The first is likely to be a price-friendly version running Windows RT on top of ARM chips. The other is expected to hold a slightly higher price tag and run Windows 8 Pro on top of Intel “Ivy Bridge” processors.

And Microsoft reassures us that their pricing will be reasonable on both models:

“Suggested retail pricing will be announced closer to availability and is expected to be competitive with a comparable ARM tablet or Intel Ultrabook-class PC,” Microsoft said.

Dove’s Back To Uni Essential Tech Kit

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Whether you are just starting or going back to university this September, it is important to be prepared, from essential reading to IT equipment. As many universities expect people to have computer technology and internet these days, they will often set tasks that involve using home IT equipment, so it is essential to be prepared for this. Dove has put together a guide to making sure you are prepared for the back-to-uni rush this September.

back to school back to college back to university

The Essentials Checklist

  • Laptop or PC – Beat the mad dash for the use of the slow and clunky old university library computers by being prepared and having your own PC or laptop in your student accommodation. You can use it anytime, and it makes completing assignments a doddle.
  • All-In-One Printer – Printing off at in the university library can be a stressful experience, especially close to deadline dates. But having your own all in one printer back at your accomodation would allow you to leisurely print, scan and photocopy anytime you need to.
  • Microsoft Office University Suite – To be able to complete assignments on your PC or laptop, you will need a Microsoft Office Suite, allowing you to create Word documents, PowerPoint presentations, and more. Dove are currently running a student offer on the software, for more details click here.
  •  Internet Security – The internet is one of the greatest technological advances, but unfortunately it allows hackers and virus threats to freely enter your computer and cause no end of issues. Protect against this with  Kaspersky Internet Security 2012 3PC 1 year subscription, which offer pop up and virus protection so you can enjoy a worry-free browsing experience.
  • Back-up – Backing up your hard work is essential if you plan to use your PC or laptop for assignments and long running projects. All manner of things can easily go wrong with technology, for example if you simply spills a drink on the keyboard or accidently drop the laptop. These things happen, and although you can repair or replace broken technology, you can’t get back the data that was saved on there. We recommend an offsite back up program such as Mozy, which is ideal for home use, and Dove can install and set up the software for you, no hassle needed.
  • Tablet/iPad – A tablet is not an essential, but more people are investing in this unique and useful tool. With a multitude of apps and games available for you to enjoy, it is a great extra to consider when building your back-to-uni kit.

Dove Computer Solutions are offering an exclusive 6 months remote support on every laptop purchased between 16th July and 31 August, to help make the back-to-uni time as stress free as possible for you! 

Dove’s Guide to the Back-To-School IT Essentials

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Whether your kids are just starting or going back to school it is important to be prepared, from uniform and PE kits, to essential reading and IT equipment. As many schools expect people to have computer technology and internet these days, they will often set tasks that involve using home IT equipment, so it is essential to be prepared for this. Dove has put together a guide to making sure you are prepared for the back-to-school rush of September 2012.

The Essentials Checklist

  • Laptop or PC – This can be one of the most valuable homework and education tools available. You can utilise it for sourcing information for products, simply looking up unknown words and phrases, or even play some of the many educational PC games for children.
  • Printer – A printer is a useful tool for printing off information, and allows children to utilise the computer or laptop to get more daring and creative with their homework, and then allows them to print it off to take into school and show off.
  • Microsoft Office Home and Student Suite – For your children to be able to use the PC or laptop for their homework tasks, a Microsoft Office suite with programs such as Word, PowerPoint, Publisher and more is a must-have.
  • Internet Security – Your children obviously going to want to utilise the internet when gathering information for homework projects, and you don’t want to have the risk of them going on the wrong site, or pop ups and viruses becoming an issue when your child is working on the computer. We advise a home edition internet security package such as Kaspersky Internet Security 2012 3PC 1 year subscription, which allows you to set parental controls, and providers pop up and virus protection so you and your children can enjoy a worry-free browsing experience.
  • Back-up – Backing up your child’s hard work is essential if you plan to use your PC or laptop for homework and long running projects. All manner of things can easily go wrong with technology, for example if your child spills their drink on the keyboard or accidently drops the laptop. These things happen, and although you can repair or replace broken technology, you can’t get back the data that was saved on there. We recommend an offsite back up program such as Mozy, which is ideal for home use, and Dove can install and set up the software for you, no hassle needed.
  • Tablet/iPad – A tablet is not an essential, but more people are investing in this unique and fun educational tool. With a multitude of apps and games available for kids to enjoy, it is a great extra to consider when building your back to school kit.

Dove Computer Solutions are offering an exclusive 6 months remote support on every laptop purchased between 16th July and 31 August, to help make the back to school time as stress free as possible for you!