Whether it's because they like the stability of Windows 7, their existing investment in earlier third-party applications, dislike of Microsoft's latest operating system, or another reason altogether, some IT professionals don't want to run the Windows 8 OS that comes preloaded on their companies' new desktop PCs. Or perhaps they plan to run Windows 8 -- but not yet.
I've found that about 10 percent of new desktops are still available with Windows 7. Market leading PC vendors' websites show about six to 10 of their 40 to 60 offerings ship with Windows 7 preinstalled. This percentage will only drop as we move forward. I expect by the end of March only specialty orders will allow for Windows 7 preinstalled.
Right out of the box, I have Windows 8: How do I get back to Windows 7 if I'm not ready and willing to make that commitment?
Microsoft's Replacement Department, the starting point in this licensing quest, is prepared to handle this issue. After providing the call center with your Windows 8 product key and part number, the company will ship out Windows 7 Media and you'll be charged $30 for the media and shipping. In return, you'll get a boxed retail copy of Windows 7 Pro with a license key. The associated computer will then have a shipping Windows 8 license for later use, and a current and fully-licensed Windows 7 Pro desktop -- the best of both worlds.
For, after all, eventually your company will most likely upgrade to Windows 8. By planning ahead, you can eliminate some obvious training issues that occur due to the great differences between versions 7 and 8.
Press start
When you finally do begin rolling out Windows 8 to your company's users, be prepared to deal with the Start button. Or, to be more accurate, the lack of one.
For $5 per desktop, you can buy Start8, third-party software by StarDock, that adds this button back to the Win8 desktop. It's a cheap way to deal with the first issue you'll probably find related to Windows 8 training.
After all, training is the key to successful software adoption. Any technology must have the confidence of the users. If your user base does not believe in its ability to use the tools at hand, the software will fail, not due to bad code or poor installation, but for lack of use. Employees will fall back on older and what's perceived as "more reliable" technology to complete their tasks. At the end of the day, they must get their jobs done, regardless of current IT initiatives.
IT must do their job as well. Throwing users to the interface sharks is not a good path to building confidence in your organization's support team. Empowering users with new tools is part of the path to success for the business world. The real work for the IT sector is simple: Teach your user base how to be more efficient with the new tools. In the end, they will need less support if you provide them with advance training in new software or operating systems.
— Michael Starnes is CEO of Orlando-based Starnes Consulting.
@Nathan: Very true plus if MS decides to step in , definitely it will be a good competition between the 2 giants. I think this is what we want and what we expect.
Definitely Google, but let's not discount Microsoft. Since Microsoft is in the midst of developing the world's first truly augmented reality glasses. They have patents filed on it as well, which I think is nifty.
StaceyE, agreed. It's even better when you get inspiration from everyday people who don't work in your sector. Family, girlfriend, friends. It's actually inspiring and makes me want to interact with others more often.
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Throughout their generations, medical records have promised us lowered costs, increased efficiency, and generally better healthcare. However, despite untold dollars and the efforts of some very smart people, we've yet to realize a fully electronic medical record.
When one of my team members recently responded to network-down call at a client's home office, he quickly established, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the edge device -- a customer premise equipment (CPE) router -- had been compromised. Regaining control of the edge router proved difficult. A neighbor who was within range of the 802.11n wireless radio was actively hacking the router, overpowering the field tech with password resets in real time. In order to regain control of the network, the tech had to remove the antennas, allowing for LAN access only to the routing edge, and effectively cutting off the hack by cutting off his basic access.
This year's opening keynote speech at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) broke the mold: Dr. Paul Jacobs, CEO of Qualcomm, delivered the first non-Microsoft presentation in a dozen years. Though Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer did make an appearance, the presentation was dominated by a core technology for release by Qualcomm this year.
Cisco's rumored sale of Linksys suggests we may have problem with innovation and profit at the edge of our Internet, and that could be critical to the evolution of many Internet-delivered services.
A survey by JD Powers found that customer interest in product features is lessening as phones evolve. Rather than features, price is driving purchases, and that change could have a dramatic impact on how IT departments secure these devices.
The bring-your-own-device approach isn’t suited to monitoring of enterprise equipment and processes. In these cases, it is up to IT to come forward with gear suited to the task.
New tools like laptops, tablets, smartphone, and wireless connectivity let us work from San Diego to Katmandu, and anywhere in between. But time management remains a problem.
Showing results is the best way to win over social business doubters, according to Mary Maida, Medtronic lead information solutions manager. Internet Evolution's Mitch Wagner interviewed Maida at the E2 Innovate conference.
Companies need to take advantage of new technologies to simplify interfaces, improve capabilities, and enhance back-office processes. But they can't upgrade their Websites too often.
Wells Fargo uses social software to replace email chains and help its sales team collaborate more effectively to land deals, according to Kelli Carlson-Jagersma, VP Collaboration Strategy for Wells Fargo. Mitch Wagner spoke with Carlson-Jagersma at the E2Innovate conference
Businesses helped neighbors with Internet access and mobile device charge-ups during Sandra. Following that example, enterprises should consider preparing Internet disaster plans to help the public during disasters.
New York's Metropolitan Transit Authority is conducting a pilot test of digital kiosks to guide subway users to where they want to go more efficiently and at lower cost.
The whole Amazon.reader debate is a double-stupid. It's stupid to think that there's any e-book buyer who doesn't know Amazon's URL, and it was stupider to let ICANN launch the whole free-form TLD initiative to start with.
While NFC's original goal was to enhance mobile commerce applications, it is finding its way into a number of other uses, which is creating both opportunity as well as challenges for IT departments.
Enterprises would like to move to cloud computing but are hesitant because they are concerned about providers’ ability to secure company data. Here are some tips that help to ensure that if breaches occur, the business is not left holding the bag.
Edmunds separates customers into segments based on the info it collects on its site and from partners, and uses that to push out custom content, said Brian Baron, director of business analytics for Edmunds.com, at Predictive Analytics Innovation Summit.
The automotive website uses propensity modeling to target ads and customer registration forms, said Brian Baron, director of business analytics for Edmunds.com, at Predictive Analytics Innovation Summit.
Expert Integrated Systems: Changing the Experience & Economics of IT In this e-book, we take an in-depth look at these expert integrated systems -- what they are, how they work, and how they have the potential to help CIOs achieve dramatic savings while restoring IT's role as business innovator. READ THIS eBOOK
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M2M: Rise of the Machines? Not Yet David Weldon In the 1970 science fiction thriller Colossus: The Forbin Project, two giant supercomputers from the United States and Soviet Union secretly join forces to take control of the collective nuclear might of the two countries. In the film, the two machines discover each other's existence, communicate back-and-forth, share their collective data, and cut their human creators out of the process. It is the ultimate example of machine-to-machine communications, or M2M. CLICK FOR MORE
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