I have made a short list of reasons why I love the new version and highly recommend updating your license, especially if you are still on Office 2003 or earlier.

1)  Outlook Customization

When you first gaze at the new version of Outlook, you will probably hate it.  At least I did.  In the past I have tried to de-clutter Outlook as much as possible but there hasn’t been much in the way of changing how it looks and feels, with exception to the reading pane location.  In Outlook 2010 you can add as much or as little information as you want on the screen.  For those of you minimalists out there, you can actually configure outlook to only show the message list and reading pane, no clutter at all.  For those of you who like everything at a glance, you will love Outlook 2010 as well.  Outlook had never been so customizable.

2)  Social Connector

The social connector is supposed to replace the need for xobni by integrating your social media outlets and all history with a contact.  It tracks all of the events, conversations, social media updates and more for each of your contacts and people that you coorispond with.

The only potential problem is that in the 64 bit version of Outlook, it doesn’t have that many supported social media outlets (yet), and time will have to tell if Microsoft can pull off replicating someone else’s good idea without botching it.  Once more social media outlets are available, I think it could end up being my favorite change in Outlook.

3)  Conversation Threading

Those of you who have every used Gmail for any length of time can appreciate the conversation style of how messages are displayed.  Outlook 2010 offers you the ability to organize all folders, some folders or even just some messages in a conversation style that really helps keep down on inbox clutter.  There is even a feature for cleaning up conversations so you can keep all of your folders clutter free.

4)  Simplified Menu

This is a point some will probably debate with me.  If you hated the ribbon interface in Office 2007 you will really hate Office 2010.  I personally enjoy the new interface and find it much more logical and intuitive than the previous versions, it does take an open mind and a couple weeks of using it to find things though.  I find the new menu system easy to use, simple and in many ways very friendly to use.  Again, this “perk” is subjective but I would encourage you to use the new interface with an open mind.

5)  Calendar Previewing

Ever get a meeting request and hated dropping what you were doing to check your calendar so you can see if you had time?  I have, and it gets old fast.  With Outlook 2010, when you get a meeting request it actually displays your calendar availability in the reading pane so you can see at a glance if you are free.  This makes you much more efficient because you don’t have to stop reviewing emails in order to see if you can make the meeting.  Just one of many little changes that this new release offers.

While this is hardly a comprehensive list of changes, I think you will find that Microsoft may be heading the right direction with this release and some of the new features will make managing your messaging, social media and contacts easier.  By the way, when you purchase Office 2007, you get a free upgrade license to 2010 when it is released.  Contact your Microsoft Reseller for more information.

As always please leave your thoughts and experiences, your feedback is valuable!

One of the best thing about Android phones is that they are available on just about every network.  Phones like the HTC Evo from Sprint and the Motorolla Droid are changing the game and creating many opportunities for business clients.  Having a presence on multiple carriers and all sharing an app store gives Google a distinct edge over Apple.  Now a business doesn’t have to sacrifice the carrier they are satisfied with in order to get the features they want.

As a long time Blackberry user, it is almost a bitter pill to swallow but  this year I will be trading in my trusted Blackberry for the HTC EVO from Sprint.  If you are using an Android phone leave me your comments, I would like to hear your favorite features of Android.

For many businesses it is not the lack of technology that leads to inefficiencies but a lack of planning and strategy for how to use it.  My son illustrates this point quite well recently.  For those who don’t know, I have a fantastic 8 month old son who is learning to crawl.  He hasn’t quite gotten it down yet but in the process he has taught me a critical business lesson I want to pass on to you.

In his attempts to crawl he lays on his stomach and frantically flaps his arms and attempts to move his legs in the correct manor but is frustrated when he doesn’t move anywhere.  He screams and pouts because he feels like he is doing the right thing, he knows what he is supposed to do but it doesn’t seem to be generating results.

The lesson here is that it’s not enough to have the right technology (arms & legs) or know what you’re supposed to be doing.  In order to get results you have to use the technology and knowledge in concert to make things work.  When my son figures out how to use his arms in concert with his legs and the direction he wants to go, I am sure that I will be running all over trying to catch up.

If your business feels like its learning to crawl when it comes to finding the right marriage between technology and process, I can help you find solutions to get where you want to go and make the competition struggle to keep up.

For more information on making your business technology, goals and processes work together contact Dataworks for a free visit and custom planning session.

Apple has done a great job in the past with creating sleek, innovative and easy to use products.  This product however shows absolutely zero signs of innovation.  It almost seems like they have created a product just for the sake of something new, as if it is unfinished.  As I thought about this device I have come up with a short list of items that give it an epic fail status…

1. NO MULTI-TASKING:
   Seriously! Apple wants me to purchase a device that only lets me do one thing at a time.  This completely defeats the purpose of technology.  Having things like Pandora, and an E-Book reader are great but what about those of us who like to do more than one thing or who were hopping for a true net book replacement.  Would it really have been that difficult to create a “net book” or “tablet” version of OS-X for this thing?
2. LOW STORAGE SPACE:
   16GB of space on a flash drive is not a bad deal but on a computer that is supposed to let me play HD video and music and photos etc… that is a joke!  I realize that there are higher level options but even the highest option of 64GB is still insane for this type of device.  This is the first mobile device that you actually would want to watch a movie on and yet it can’t hold much in the way of media.  64GB should have been the entry level amount at least.
   
3. NO ETHERNET or HDMI PORT:
   Again, that is the point of a multimedia device that doesn’t allow me to connect it to an external display and give a presentation or watch one of my movies.  Apple had tried to tout this as a net book replacement but the lack of Ethernet and HDMI ports on a HD device make this nearly worthless.
4. NO FLASH:
   Okay so not only is this device supposed to replace my laptop but its supposed to do it without flash?  Give me a break, whats the point of surfing the web if half the content isn’t viewable?

I do believe there is a place in the market for a device that is in tablet form with a full operating system on it.  My largest complaints about this new device is the lack of multi-tasking and the ridiculously low amount of standard memory.  Had Apple released this device with either OS-X or a slimmed down version of it along with WiFi, I would probably be singing its praises.  It is too bad that Apple ignored this platform’s potential and instead made a glorified version of the Amazon Kindle.

It is almost if Apple is trying to see just how stupid their customer base is by touting this as “new”.  Come on guys, release this as the device it is capable of being instead of a remake of your existing product line.

Better luck next time Apple.

You will notice first off that I forwarded this email.  PayPal suggests forwarding all suspicious email to spoof@paypal.com for analysis.   Aside from that there are a couple things that give this email away as a phishing attack.  The first is the “To” field.  It is sent to PayPal.  This indicates that the message was sent to a distribution group that my email happened to be in and not to me directly.  This is clearly not a practice that any organization would use when communicating sensitive information to a customer directly.

The second piece I did not notice right away although I should have.  If you look at the sender, the email address is support@paypal-media.com.  This is not a domain owned by paypal!!  If you ever receive an email from a domain that is similar but not exactly the organization, it is a good chance its a phishing scheme or SPAM.  These two items alone should leave you suspicious and prompt you to contact the organization the message is claiming to be from immediately.  NEVER reply to an email of this type or click on any links contained in it.

The next part about this email that is highly suspicious is the wording in the body followed by the link to complete the form.  Again this is one of the better scams I have seen so don’t feel bad if you wouldn’t have caught some of this, money and bank account messages don’t get deleted like the “win a free ipod” messages do.  That’s what makes this one noteworthy.

Clicking on the link at the bottom reveals that the form is hosted at another domain and Firefox 3.5 automatically recognizes it as a phishing domain.  However the main reason why you need to think twice before taking an email like this one seriously is this…

NO, NOT ONE financial institution will EVER contact you via email if there is a security matter with your account.  There is a reason they want a physical address and phone number!  If you receive an email like the one above, simply contact the institution in question directly, never through a link in the message and verify that everything is alright directly.

Upon further review in the email headers, this email was actually sent from someone’s AOL account.  This typically means that that persons computer has been compromised with malware.  This is why it is so critical that you keep your computer security current.  So in review, lets examine some steps to take to avoid ID theft and falling for phishing scams…

1. If it looks suspicious – it probably is!  Contact the institution in question directly via phone and NEVER through the information contained in the email especially links or phone numbers contained in the email.  Remember that the IRS and banks especially will never contact you via email in regards to account or personal information.
2. Keep your browser current!  Internet Explorer 6 is NOT a viable browser anymore.  You should always update your browser whether it is IE, FireFox, Opera etc.. to the latest version.  It is always free and takes very little time to do.
3. Keep Anti Virus & Anti Spy ware programs current!  I recommend VIPRE anti virus because of its speed, accurate scanning and frequent updates.  Whichever program you decide on, make sure it has the most current definitions.
4. Keep your operating system current!  There is a reason that Microsoft and others release service packs and regular updates.  By keeping your computer patched, you reduce your risk of infection and a data breach.
5. Change your passwords often and have more than one!  By changing your passwords often and not using the same password for everything, you reduce your risk and potential impact if/when a security event occurs.  Passwords should be 8-10 characters with upper & lower case, numbers and/or special characters.  (example: K@ns@sC1ty)

While these steps alone will not guarantee that you never experience ID theft or other issues, they are a great first place to start.  I hope this was helpful and as always please post your thoughts below.