Newsletter Archives

• When OneDrive isn’t OneDrive

  Posted on April 17, 2023 at 02:43 CDT by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  ONEDRIVE

  

  By Will Fastie

  You think you know what you’re talking about, and then reality hits you smack on the nose.

  You may recall that I have two OneDrive instances — one belonging to me, my personal Microsoft 365 account, and one belonging to the 365 Business plan we use to run this operation.

  I thought they were identical in every respect.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.16.0, 2023-04-17).

  OneDrive Microsoft 365, Mobile apps, Newsletters, Office Online, storage, Windows

• Inside the overpacked Microsoft 365 app

  Posted on April 3, 2023 at 02:45 CDT by Peter Deegan • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 20.14 • 2023-04-03

  MICROSOFT 365

  

  By Peter Deegan

  The Microsoft 365 app — formerly known as the Office 365 app — is what I call the Office “all-in-one” app.

  It’s available for Apple (iPhone/iPad) and Android devices and combines the Word, Excel, and PowerPoint mobile apps into a single app — with elements of OneDrive, the Lens app, and many other Microsoft features thrown in for good measure. Anyone can use the app, though there are some extras for Microsoft 365 customers.

  Because the “all-new” Microsoft 365 mobile app is being pushed heavily, let’s take a closer look.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.14.0, 2023-04-03).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Microsoft 365 Microsoft 365, Microsoft 365 app, Mobile apps, Newsletters

• How to get the most out of Google Bard and Bing Chat

  Posted on April 3, 2023 at 02:43 CDT by B. Livingston • Comment in the Forums

  PUBLIC DEFENDER

  

  By Brian Livingston

  Whether you like it or not, generative artificial intelligence — gen AI — is making its way into Google’s search engine, Gmail, and Docs. Its Redmond competitor is building OpenAI’s GPT-4 into Microsoft 365, Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and more.

  Other tech companies don’t want to go down the tubes like buggy whips, slide rules, and Silicon Valley Bank. So they’re all racing against the two software giants to bolt gen AI into their apps and gadgets. Who knows, you might get AI-driven responses from holographic humanoids in Facebook’s failed virtual metaverse.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.14.0, 2023-04-03).

  Public Defender Artificial intelligence, Bing AI, ChatGPT, Generative AI, Google Bard, Microsoft 365, Newsletters, OpenAI

• Microsoft 365 Copilot announced

  Posted on March 27, 2023 at 02:44 CDT by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  MICROSOFT NEWS

  

  By Will Fastie

  Another shoe has dropped in Microsoft’s quest to build generative AI into just about everything.

  On March 16, Microsoft announced a new feature named Copilot, which will be provided with Microsoft 365 accounts. Copilot uses generative artificial intelligence, a large language model (LLM), and the Microsoft Graph to provide services based on natural language prompts. Examples of such prompting are evident in the controversial BingAI, but Microsoft emphasized its commitment to “responsible AI” for Copilot.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.13.0, 2023-03-27).

  Microsoft News Artificial intelligence, Bing AI, Copilot, Generative AI, Large language model, Microsoft 365, Microsoft Graph, Newsletters

• Changes to Outlook and OneDrive have fallout

  Posted on February 6, 2023 at 02:44 CST by Peter Deegan • Comment in the Forums

  MICROSOFT 365

  

  By Peter Deegan

  Last week there were two big — and related — changes to Outlook.com and OneDrive.

  One is a way for Microsoft to gobble up more of your OneDrive quota. The other is a new Microsoft 365 plan, which might interest people with a perpetual license to Office 2021, 2019, and earlier.

  I’ll explain these changes in detail; in particular, I’ll explain why these two changes are related and how to deal with the fallout.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.06.0, 2023-02-06).

  Microsoft 365 Microsoft 365, Microsoft Outlook, Newsletters, OneDrive, Outlook.com, outlook.com attachments

• Microsoft 365: Year in review

  Posted on December 26, 2022 at 02:44 CST by Peter Deegan • Comment in the Forums

  MICROSOFT 365

  

  By Peter Deegan

  Let’s take a minute to check the rearview mirror and review what’s happened this year with Microsoft Office. We’ll also peer over the horizon to speculate about 2023.

  There were obvious (and not-so-obvious) changes to Microsoft Office and Microsoft 365. I’ll look at just some of the changes. They might not be the most hyped changes coming from the never-ending road that is Microsoft marketing, and some of them might be overlooked but yet interesting.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.52.0, 2022-12-26).

  Microsoft 365 Clipchamp, Designer, Excel, Microsoft 365, Newsletters, Office 365, PowerPoint, Sketchup, Teams, Word

• Microsoft Insider: Pros, and the many cons

  Posted on December 5, 2022 at 02:45 CST by Peter Deegan • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 19.49 • 2022-12-05

  MICROSOFT 365

  

  By Peter Deegan

  Microsoft pushes its Insider versions of Office software very hard, promising the latest features faster than the public at large receives them.

  But it doesn’t mention the downsides of using beta software, the confusing and ever-changing labels, and the real reason why the company promotes the Insider editions of Office and Windows so strongly.

  Anyone can become an Office or Windows Insider. Microsoft pushes the various levels of test software for Office and Windows with phrases such as “Get the scoop on our newest builds and features” and “Help shape the future of Office.” As usual, that’s stretching the truth, hiding the real purposes of Microsoft’s Insider program.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.49.0, 2022-12-05).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Microsoft 365 Beta Tesring, Microsoft 365, Newsletters, Office Insider, Windows Insider

• How to safely migrate to a Microsoft 365 mailbox

  Posted on November 7, 2022 at 02:43 CST by Peter Deegan • Comment in the Forums

  MICROSOFT 365

  

  By Peter Deegan

  There’s an official way to migrate mailboxes to Microsoft 365 mailboxes (including Outlook.com) — but there’s a better, more prudent method I’ll explain in this article.

  Most of Microsoft’s advice is for medium and large organizations, but there’s a more direct option for smaller orgs, families, or individuals — and it also leaves you with an offline backup.

  I’ll focus on moving a free Gmail account to Outlook.com. You can use a very similar process to move small numbers of paid Google Workspace accounts to Microsoft 365 Business, or to migrate any mailbox, such as ISP-based email.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.45.0, 2022-11-07).

  Microsoft 365 Gmail, Microsoft 365, Newsletters, outlook, Outlook.com

• Tracking the larger Microsoft ecosystem

  Posted on October 31, 2022 at 02:42 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  With Microsoft 365 making inroads onto platforms other than Windows, it’s increasingly important to track versioning and patches elsewhere.

  For example, it’s not enough to talk about Microsoft 365 as if it existed only on Windows PCs. We know our readers have more than one device, including phones and tablets. So while my focus with Patch Watch will continue to center on Windows, you’ll hear more from me about the broader Microsoft universe.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.44.0, 2022-10-31).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Patch Watch AskWoody Plus Newsletter, MacOS, Microsoft 365, Newsletter, Office, Patch Lady Posts, Patch Watch

• How to fix the most common OneNote sync problems

  Posted on October 24, 2022 at 02:43 CDT by Mary Branscombe • Comment in the Forums

  ONENOTE

  

  By Mary Branscombe

  If OneNote stops moving your notes around properly, you can usually get it unstuck with these steps.

  Last time, we looked at how OneNote sync works and how to fix basic problems (What to do when OneNote won’t sync, 2022-09-19). However, there are some common sync problems where you need to dig a little deeper or do some extra work yourself.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.43.0, 2022-10-24).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, OneNote AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Microsoft 365, OneDrive, OneNote, Synchronization

• Use free Teams to make calls like Zoom

  Posted on October 10, 2022 at 02:44 CDT by Peter Deegan • Comment in the Forums

  MICROSOFT 365

  

  By Peter Deegan

  Anyone can use Teams Free to set up a group call with video, screen sharing, and other goodies — bypassing all the other Teams stuff about channels, posts, and mentions — which can confuse less-confident computer users.

  Microsoft Teams has a lot going for it, perhaps too much at times. In this article, I’ll explain how to use it for one-to-one and small-group calls. I’ll also review which features are available and what’s not possible with Teams Free.

  Microsoft loves to confuse Teams customers by mixing up the free and paid options. Many of the promoted “Teams features” are really for paid plans only — but you’d know that only by looking in the very fine print.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.41.0, 2022-10-10).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Microsoft 365 AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Microsoft 365, Teams, Zoom

• The surprising truth about ultra-cheap Microsoft Office

  Posted on September 12, 2022 at 02:43 CDT by Peter Deegan • Comment in the Forums

  MICROSOFT 365

  

  By Peter Deegan

  Ever wondered about those ultra-cheap deals for Microsoft Office? Are they safe to buy, or a scam? Is the license legal and recognized by Microsoft?

  The answers might surprise you as much as they surprised me.

  It’s part of the modern world that’s widely advertised but not much talked about. My research includes feedback (generally positive) from many readers, plus my own purchases from a well-known site. I’ll focus on Office 2021, but the same info and warnings apply to cheap offers for Windows or other software.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.37.0, 2022-09-12).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Microsoft 365 AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Microsoft 365, Office 365, Prices
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