In February 2012 I had lunch with a friend, Sharon Bennett. Following that lunch, we each wrote an article about ending snow days. These followed a lunch we had where we discussed how easy it would have been, with the technology available to us then (8.5 years ago), to teach remotely… not all the time,... Continue Reading →
American Politics… and my silence
My first business trip to the United States of America was in 2006 or 2007. I remember how excited I was when I was issued my first TN visa allowing me to work in the US, and the pride I felt standing before my audiences as a trainer representing a great brand. Over the course... Continue Reading →
A Product Reviewer’s Integrity
I do not remember when or what was the first product I was asked to review for this blog, but it certainly goes back more than a decade. From the very beginning, I decided that I needed to balance my integrity with a life of positivity. As such, I have told every company, large and... Continue Reading →
Internet Explorer: Still slowly going away
For the last who-knows-how-long, Microsoft Windows users have been opting for a third-party web browser in lieu of the dreaded Internet Explorer. They went through so many versions over the years, it was almost comical. Each time they released a new version, Microsoft would tout their modern browser. Each time, the masses would snicker, claiming... Continue Reading →
One Pound Lost is Three Pounds of Progress
Author’s Note: While this blog is first and foremost about IT, since the very beginning it has always been about how I see the world… whether that be music, martial arts, travel, whatever. Although I have struggled with my weight since the very beginning (and for many years before that), I have done my best... Continue Reading →
Arrogance… or Excellence?
I had some papers to sign regarding a new job last week, so rather than dressing for the beautiful sunny southern California heat, I put on a dress shirt and tie; in recognition of the Casual Fridays concept, I wore a sport jacket instead of a suit. I drove to Culver City to sign the... Continue Reading →
Calling It What It is
We are currently experiencing an outage that affects (all of our websites). This outage also affects our call centers, and we are currently unable to receive any calls, emails, or online chats. We are working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible and apologize for this inconvenience.I use a number of tools and online... Continue Reading →
Covid-19 and Security Theatre
I was walking through the casino at Binion’s on Fremont Street, Las Vegas last weekend, and I couldn’t help think about an old friend. Dana Epp, one of the smartest people I know, and an IT security expert, introduced me to the term Security Theatre. I don’t remember how many years ago that was, but... Continue Reading →
Office Client Connections: Are you covered?
When Microsoft introduced Office 365, subscribers stopped worrying about new versions. As long as you were a subscriber, your monthly updates would deliver the newest versions of the client applications, and not just monthly patches. It certainly made life simpler. Still a lot of people prefer to purchase software, and not subscribe to it. That... Continue Reading →
Goodbye Microsoft Store.
In 2009 Microsoft started opening retail locations, hoping to compete with the Apple Store. Over the past eleven years, and especially while I was still a Microsoft MVP and living in the Greater Toronto Area, I did a lot of work with the stores in Toronto and Mississauga, and wrote many articles about experiences at... Continue Reading →
Sharing is Caring… but don’t touch the merchandise!
Raise your hand if you still think that the only way to share a document is to e-mail it as an attachment? Those days are fortunately long gone; Microsoft 365 offers you the ability to share a link to a document that you have stored on your OneDrive for Business. It offers a few real... Continue Reading →
Azure Administrator
A little over a year ago I spent two days sitting at a Starbucks in Atwater Village preparing for what turned out to be one of the easier exams I have taken over the years. I earned my first one-star badge from Microsoft (Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals). I did not do much to follow it... Continue Reading →
Microsoft 365: Know Your Plan
While it has been true for some time, during the Covid-19 pandemic, when quarantines, lockdowns, and shelter in place are forcing the vast majority of information workers to work remotely, and when video conferencing is ubiquitous, Microsoft wants everyone using Microsoft Teams.Question: True or False: Every Microsoft 365 plan that is business- or enterprise-focused includes... Continue Reading →
Protected: The Land Of The Free?
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
The Inefficiencies of Legacy Thinking
Until recently, I was working at a company that was in the process of migrating their datacenters into the cloud. Their policies, written many years ago, stated that information had to go through their corporate firewalls. During the Covid-19 outbreak that saw 95% of the workforce working from home, this was nevertheless interpreted to include... Continue Reading →
