Daily Archives: July 25, 2022

• Solo collaboration: Office’s untold advantage

  Posted on July 25, 2022 at 02:45 CDT by Peter Deegan • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 19.30 • 2022-07-25

  MICROSOFT 365

  

  By Peter Deegan

  Modern Office app “collaboration” features are hyped by Microsoft for businesspeople to share a document. But all those features — comments, tracking, versioning, and multi-computer access — are available and useful for solo, personal work, too.

  Using the collaboration tools on your own is an easy way to become confident with those features without embarrassing yourself — nobody is looking over your shoulder. The same tools are useful to help you manage a complex document by leaving notes and reminders to yourself. The also help you recall deleted text and access the latest version from wherever you are.

  I’ll focus on Word in this article because it has the most comprehensive collaboration features. The same tips apply generally to Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, and even a little bit for Outlook.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.30.0, 2022-07-25).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Microsoft 365 Collaboration, Microsoft 365, Microsoft Office, Newsletters

• Make semiconductor chips without wasting water? Intel says it can.

  Posted on July 25, 2022 at 02:44 CDT by B. Livingston • Comment in the Forums

  PUBLIC DEFENDER

  

  By Brian Livingston

  Semiconductor manufacturing requires water, and a lot of it. But the Intel Corporation, one of the world’s largest operators of fabrication facilities, announced recently that it’s on track by the year 2030 to deliver to local communities 100% as much clean water as its plants use — and that the company is already generating more than 100% in some countries.

  How is that possible? If fabs require water to run their manufacturing processes, how could a chip maker end up with more water than it uses?

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.30.0, 2022-07-25).

  Public Defender Environment, Newsletters, Public Defender, Silicon

• Do we really want (or need) Windows 12?

  Posted on July 25, 2022 at 02:43 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  The famous old idiom “moving the deckchairs around on the Titanic” is sometimes applied to technology.

  Even though the saying usually implies the futility of a particular action, it often conjures up to me a technology company doing something — anything — to encourage us to purchase more of their product — or at least the latest, so-called greatest version. In my experience, it’s not what we really want but what the vendor thinks we need.

  Case in point? Rumors are flying that Windows 12 is just around the corner.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.30.0, 2022-07-25).

  On Security Newsletters, Patch Lady Posts, Windows, Windows 10, Windows 11

• The worst software in the world

  Posted on July 25, 2022 at 02:42 CDT by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  COMMENTARY

  

  By Will Fastie

  If I were grading the various apps in Microsoft’s Casual Games collection, they’d be lucky to get a D.

  It’s not because the games themselves are bad. It’s because they are all based on the same underlying game engine, one designed with multiple capabilities. The emphasis on the engine has diverted attention away from the games themselves, which have been in general disrepair for some time.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.30.0, 2022-07-25).

  Commentary Games, Microsoft, Newsletters, Software Quality