Andreas' Blog

Microsoft and LinkedIn's Resume Assistant, a tool to help users optimize their resumes for specific jobs, is now available for Office 365 subscribers on Windows. Resume Assistant pops up in a sidebar and helps by offering examples of work experience descriptions you can use as inspiration for your resume based on a role (like a project manager) or an industry (like journalism). You can also filter through skills prospective employers might be looking for to fine-tune and tailor your CV. Resume Assistant has been integrated with Microsoft Word since last year . Microsoft, which bought LinkedIn for $26.2 billion in 2016 , says the feature gathers insights from millions of LinkedIn profiles for examples of how others in similar roles or roles you're aspiring to describe their work experience. LinkedIn's freelance hiring marketplace ProFinder is also connected directly to Resume Assistant, so you can talk to experts about career coaching and other resume ...

Microsoft plans to remove the HomeGroup functionality from its Windows 10 operating system. The company made the first step towards that goal in the most recent Insider Preview version of Windows 10 as it disabled it in that build. In "a note about HomeGroup" in the release announcement of the Windows 10 Insider Build, Microsoft confirms that HomeGroup will be retired. The company introduced HomeGroup in Windows 7 as a new option for home users to access printers, files, and media in home networks. The core idea was to assign all devices to a single HomeGroup to share access to files and printers between all devices. It is unclear how popular the feature was and is. It is clear however that it was never the only option that Windows users had in this regard, and it was not the best either for certain use cases. You could not add Mac OS X or Linux devices to a HomeGroup for instance. The end of HomeGroup Easily connecting to and sharing the important pieces of...

Microsoft's Windows 10 Fall Creators Update is here and ready to download. The software giant first started testing its Fall Creators Update back in April, and now all Windows 10 users will be able to experience the improvements today. Just like previous updates, Microsoft is rolling it out in stages, and you can check whether it's available for your own PC from Windows Update. If your device is eligible then it will start downloading in the background, and a prompt will appear to schedule a time to install. If your device isn't on the list, then that doesn't mean you can't skip the line. You can manually update to the Fall Creators Update over at Microsoft's Windows 10 site . Simply click the "update now" button and proceed with the upgrade assistant. You can also download ISO images of the final copy of Windows 10 Fall Creators Update should you want to clean install it on your PC. Microsoft's Windows 10 Fall Creators Update includes...

Apple says it is working closely with Microsoft to fix an issue that prevents Outlook.com, Office 365, and Exchange 2016 account holders from sending or replying to emails using Apple's native Mail app in iOS 11. Apple published a support document on Tuesday, September 19 – the official launch date of iOS 11 – to acknowledge the issue affecting users of Microsoft email servers. If you can't send an email with iOS 11 and an Outlook.com or Exchange mail account You might see an error message that says "Cannot Send Mail. The message was rejected by the server." If your email account is hosted by Microsoft on Outlook.com or Office 365, or an Exchange Server 2016 running on Windows Server 2016, you might see this error message when you try to send an email with iOS 11: "Cannot Send Mail. The message was rejected by the server." On Tuesday, Microsoft also published a support note , which states that Apple's Mail app in iOS 11...

In a day filled with surprises, Apple has shocked us once again with the release of iTunes 12.7, which entirely revamps the iTunes App . The new iTunes is designed to focus solely on music, movies, TV shows, podcasts, and audiobooks, which means there is no built-in App Store. The App Store has been entirely eliminated in iTunes 12.7, as has the ringtones section of iTunes. Internet Radio is now part of Music, and iTunes U has been folded into Podcasts, as Apple announced in late August . Apps can now only be downloaded on an iOS device using an iOS device, and the same goes for ringtones. In addition to the removal of the App Store, today's update adds support for syncing iOS 11 devices and includes support for new Apple Music features that allow you to follow friends and see what they're listening to. The new iTunes focuses on music, movies, TV shows, and audiobooks. It adds support for syncing iOS 11 devices and includes new features for-- Apple...

Microsoft is planning to release its next major Windows 10 update on October 17th. The software giant has been testing Windows 10 Fall Creators Update for the majority of the year, and it includes a number of features and changes . The biggest addition is Windows Mixed Reality , Microsoft's platform for new VR headsets from Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, and Lenovo. The Mixed Reality software is now fully part of Windows 10 with the Fall Creators Update, and some headsets will be available on October 17th with others arriving later this year. Microsoft had planned some far bigger features for the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, but the company ended up delaying most of them to the next update planned early next year. A new Timeline feature has been cut, which will eventually let Windows 10 users switch between multiple devices, including Android and iOS phones. A universal clipboard feature for copying data between phones and PCs has also been delayed. Windows 10 People integrati...

Microsoft is bringing one of its LinkedIn goals to life today with the launch of a dedicated LinkedIn app for Windows 10. The software giant finalized its $26 billion acquisition of LinkedIn more than six months ago, and promised "LinkedIn notifications within the Windows action center" at the time. It sounded like a special kind of hell , but if you've always wanted more LinkedIn notifications then those notifications will now be available as part of this LinkedIn app for Windows 10. Warning: installing this app makes it more difficult to ignore that someone you worked with years ago wants to connect with you on LinkedIn. The LinkedIn app itself looks like a basic web wrapper version for Windows 10, with notification support and a Live Tile. Notifications can be managed within the app, so you don't have to get a pop-up for every part of LinkedIn and you won't get spammed with unwanted notifications. Microsoft is starting to roll out LinkedIn within the Wi...

Microsoft is doubling down on offering developers more options on Windows 10, and at Build 2017, it announced that three of the most popular Linux distributions are coming to the Windows Store. Ubuntu, SUSE Linux, and Fedora will all be available to install directly from the Windows Store, making it easy to run Linux apps on any Windows 10 device. The Linux installations will run in a virtualized environment side by side with Windows, with the same command-line utilities available that you'd normally have with a full installation. Being on the Windows Store also means that the distros will be able to work on the education-focused Windows 10S. This could give Microsoft an extra edge in appealing to computer science and engineering students who may want access to the open-source operating system for developing code. https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2017/5/11/15625320/ubuntu-suse-linux-fedora-windows-store-microsoft-build-2017

Long-Delayed Focused Inbox Makes it to Outlook In January 2017, I wrote about how some deployment hiccups had delayed the arrival of the Focused Inbox feature for some clients, especially Outlook desktop. The good news is that the latest builds of Outlook ProPlus (the click-to-run version for Office 365) have the Focused Inbox. All is well and Inboxes around the world are increasingly focused. At least, if you have the right software. Apart from Windows 10 Mobile, the Outlook apps have had Focused Inbox for years because this was the key feature of the Acompli apps acquired by Microsoft in November 2014 and then rebranded as Outlook in January 2015 . Of course, today's Outlook apps are very different, especially in the way that they exploit the Office 365 infrastructure . Outlook 2016 was the last major client to support the Focused Inbox, largely because this client has the most complex of all user interfaces. It is also much harder to update a traditiona...

We had been hearing for some time now that Microsoft was going to launch a new version of Windows 10 to compete against Chrome OS and it has finally done that today. Microsoft has introduced Windows 10 S today which is its very own Chrome OS rival. It provides a robust Windows experience with low-end hardware that's specifically targeted to the education sector. Microsoft's Windows chief Terry Myerson confirmed during the company's even today that everything that runs on Windows 10 S is going to be downloaded from the Windows Store. The OS will be able to run desktop apps but they will need to be specially packaged and listed on the store. One big advantage that Windows 10 S has over Chrome OS is that it's going to have full Office support, this means that users will be able to take advantage of apps like Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, OneNote, and Excel. That's a big plus for students. There's full support for peripherals and devices l...

Microsoft Account holders can now use just their smartphone to sign in. Microsoft is enabling a new phone sign in option as part of the company's iOS and Android Microsoft Authenticator app. While you've been able to use the app for two-factor authentication requests previously, the latest update lets you bypass ever having to enter your password at a Microsoft Account login prompt. To enable the feature you can download the Microsoft Authenticator app on iOS or Android and select your account from the dropdown button and choose enable phone sign-in. Every time you sign into a Microsoft Account in the future it will generate a login request that you simply match a number on your machine with the number within the Microsoft Authenticator app. You can always choose to use your password to sign in if you've forgotten your phone, but this process is far easier and ultimately more secure. Microsoft was quick to respond to Google making two-factor authentication a l...

Microsoft Invites Mac Users to Preview Google Calendar Support in Outlook 2016 MacRumors: Mac News and Rumors - All Stories  /  Tim Hardwick Microsoft has begun inviting Mac users to try its new Google Calendar and Contacts support in Outlook 2016 by downloading and installing the application from its preview site . Up until now, many of Outlook's more advanced email features have only been available to users with an Outlook.com , Office 365 or Exchange email address. This week's global rollout means anyone with a Gmail account can take advantage of several of Outlook's advanced features, including Focused Inbox and richer experiences for travel reservations and package deliveries. Previously only available to Microsoft's Office Insider Fast Community, the new updates support all the core actions and enable anyone to add, delete, and edit events in a Google Calendar through Outlook for Mac. All changes update between the desktop software and Gmail or...

After making Windows 10 Creators Update available for manual download about a week ago, Microsoft has finally started rolling out said update today. Windows 10 users will gradually receive the update over-the-air if they don't want to go through the process of downloading it manually. However, that option exists for those who just don't want to wait to get their hands on the latest software. Bear in mind that it will take up to a few months for the over- the-air rollout of the Windows 10 Creators Update to be completed. This is why it will be more prudent for users to take advantage of the Update Assistant and get the Windows 10 Creators Update immediately. Microsoft has added tons of new features in this update and has improved upon the points that were shared by users. It has improved the update experience with differential downloads which will not only reduce update sizes but also provide users with more flexibility on when they want to install the updates. It goes w...

Netflix has offered users the option to download videos to watch later in its Android and iOS apps since late last year. And today that feature is finally making the jump to desktop with the addition of offline videos to the Windows 10 PC app, as reported by Windows Central . Like the mobile apps, the Windows 10 PC app does have a few limitations when it comes to downloading content. Offline downloads are only available for a seemingly random swath of Netflix's catalog (unsurprisingly, most of Netflix's own original series and films are eligible), but there's some pretty good stuff available, including Stranger Things , all the Star Trek shows, and the whole run of Breaking Bad . The update should be rolling out to all Windows 10 users through the Windows Store today, although it's still unclear whether the Windows 10 Mobile or Xbox One versions of the app will be getting a similar update at this time. http://www.theverge.com/2017/4/3/15159806/netflix-windows-...

There's no shortage of ways to clean useless files from your Windows machine. If you're using a smaller hard drive, you know the pains that come from regularly having to manage low disk space. Whether you use the popular CCleaner or stick to Windows' built-in tools, cleaning old files has been a manual job unless you paid for premium software. In the upcoming Windows 10 Creators Update, Microsoft has added an automatic cleanup feature so you don't have to waste time running the Disk Cleanup on your own. If you're a Windows Insider, you can access this now. Head to... Read the full article: This New Windows 10 Setting Automatically Frees Up Disk Space as It Runs Out http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/new-windows-10-setting-frees-disk-space/

Microsoft is prepping for a gradual, multi-stage rollout of the Windows 10 Creators Update starting on April 11th. But if you're eager to get your hands on it a bit early, you can manually download it on April 5th. The company said in a blog post today that it will make the Creators Update available through its Update Assistant so anyone who is using a licensed version of Windows 10 can install it one week ahead of the official rollout. You can download the Creators Update a week early You can, of course, already do so if you're willing to download and mount an ISO file off Microsoft's servers . Windows forum users were able to locate files for Windows 10 build 15063, which is generally considered to be the Release to Manufacturing (RTM) build number for the finished Creators Update. Head here to download that , so long as you're a member of the Windows Insider Program. For everyone else, the Creators Update is being pushed out on April 11th, first to newer P...

Image: Microsoft You don't have to wait around like a normal person for the Creators Update to drop—it's available to download right now, if you're a Windows Insider. The Windows Insider program lets you beta test advance versions of the OS for free, if you don't mind the occasional bug, and here's what you need to do to get enrolled. There are no specific requirements to be a Windows Insider and there's nothing to pay. It's for anyone who wants to get the latest Windows features first, but you have to be prepared to put up with a bug or two. You can leave the program at any time. Microsoft doesn't recommend running beta software on your main PC, so you do so at your own risk. You also need to have a proper Microsoft account set up on your computer (with a Microsoft email address attached), rather than a local account. Image: Screenshot Open up the Settings app on Windows 10, select Update & security , and then click the Windows Insider Pro...

Microsoft has been very open about the Windows 10 Creators Update. The company announced the feature update last year and has revealed virtually all of its features through previews. However, Microsoft has been coy on exactly when the Creators Update will launch. According to MSPU, the update will start rolling out on April 11. At launch and over the proceeding months, Microsoft has been vague about specific dates. Indeed, all the company has done is promise a spring 2017 launch for the Windows 10 Creators Update. MSPU says it has three separate sources who say Microsoft will start the roll out on April 11. Of course, despite Microsoft's silence on specific dates, we have known for some time that the Creators Update would drop in April. Dell confirmed at CES in January that the update would drop next months. However, MSPU has now added a more concrete date. An April launch has seemed likely since Microsoft announced its Build 2017 conference will kick off May...

Today, Microsoft is making Visual Studio 2017 generally available for download. If you want to try out the updated development platform, you can find the application, here . For those who have Visual Studio 2015 installed, Microsoft says that you can install 2017 alongside the older application. Additionally, you can install Visual Studio 2017 on top of Visual Studio "15" preview and 2017 RC. Along with releasing the new version of the platform, the company is hosting a two-day online event to celebrate the anniversary of Visual Studio which has been around for twenty years. The event offers interactive technical demos of the new features and will help users get up to speed on all the enhancements of the platform. Visual Studio 97, which was announced on January 28th, 1997, has grown from an IDE to a suit of services that now includes Visual Studio Team Services, Visual Studio Code, and many others. Microsoft positions this suite of tools as the premier ...