Business Solutions & Software Group Blog

Every so often, we’ve been touching on how users who may be more familiar with the macOS ecosystem in their personal lives will likely need to familiarize themselves with the Windows operating system. This time, we wanted to discuss virtual desktops in Windows… something that Mac users would know as Spaces.

Windows is, generally speaking, the default operating system used in a business setting. The same isn’t necessarily true amongst personal use… and with more organizations branching out and using Chromebooks and Macs, general familiarity with Windows is less and less of a given amongst younger users who your company may employ.

Understanding various tools, however, is advantageous—especially if there’s disparity between what one uses at home and what is standard at work. Let’s explore how Windows' different drives work and how to use them effectively.

Last month, we touched on how Windows isn’t necessarily the standard in the home as in the modern office… and therefore, how many users may not necessarily be as familiar with the operating system as some might hope. In light of how vital familiarity with Windows is in the modern workplace, we wanted to share how Windows 11 works.

To continue this exploration, we wanted to take a closer look at the Start menu, which can be found on the toolbar.

Windows PowerToys is a set of cool tools that can make your workday easier, if you know how to use them. Let’s take a quick look at some of the most useful ones for businesses and how you can put them to work.

Before we dive in, just a heads-up: these tools aren’t something you should install just anywhere. It’s always best to have a trusted IT professional handle software installations on business computers, whether that’s our team at Business Solutions & Software Group or another reliable provider. That way, everything is properly managed and documented.

We understand that Windows, while standard in most businesses, isn’t always the operating system of choice for personal users. With many schools supplying Chromebooks and Macs to students, the number of young users unfamiliar with Windows will likely rise as time passes.

Regardless of your preference regarding personal devices, becoming as familiar as possible with what is available in your professional life is always best. It also never hurts to review these things, even if you’ve used Windows before. A lot has changed, and you may learn something new!

So, if you’re an Apple user and find yourself using Windows in the workplace, consider this your guided tour of how to use Microsoft’s longstanding operating system.

Windows 11 offers plenty of great utility and customization that will help your business efficiency—provided you can use it well. Today, we want to explore how you can control your Windows desktop experience so that you can improve productivity and manage the way you make use of it throughout the day. Here are four tips to customize the way you use Windows.

The Windows 10 operating system was a major achievement for personal and business computing after the debacle that was Windows 8 (and the 8.1 update). Now that Windows 11 has taken the computing world by storm, Microsoft is getting ready to retire Windows 10. Today, let’s go through everything you need to know about Windows 10’s end of support.

It can be frustrating having a file or folder on your PC that you need to access all the time, without having a shortcut to access it with. Thankfully, Windows makes it easy to add a new shortcut for just about anything, be it a file, folder, program, and so on. Here’s how you can create new shortcuts for specific files or folders on your Windows PC.

Using multiple monitors is great—once you try it, you never want to go back. However, there are times that Windows will still act as though you’re using an additional monitor even when you aren’t. This can make your application windows inaccessible.

Let’s go over how you can retrieve them.

While you most often concern yourself with your computer while it is powered up and active, it pays to be aware of your different options when the time comes to walk away. Let’s take a few moments and review the options that you likely see when putting your computer to rest.

With so many users worldwide embracing Windows as their chosen operating system for all kinds of purposes, there are many different settings that can be customized to best fit the different needs of a workplace as compared to a gamer’s or a family’s setup. Microsoft understands this, and so is testing out a new feature to help a user quickly personalize a device to its predominant use.

Windows 7 was once the best operating system ever made by leaps and bounds. Now, it’s unsupported and shouldn’t be found on any Internet-connected device. Unfortunately, this isn’t the truth as millions of people are still using Windows 7 for their businesses. Today, we will take a look at why Windows 7 is dangerous and what options businesses have to upgrade away from the unsupported OS.

With thousands of people exposed to the COVID-19 Coronavirus and millions more under quarantine, the healthcare industry is on red alert at the moment. Just a short time ago they were worried about another virus: Bluekeep.

Notifications are almost ubiquitous in computing nowadays, which is what makes it so surprising that--until just a few years ago--Windows notifications were either nonexistent or (when Windows 8 rolled around) effectively unusable. Fortunately, Windows 10 solved this problem with the Action Center. Let’s go over what the Action Center can do.

It wasn’t too terribly long ago that Windows 10 was offered for free to users of Windows 7 and Windows 8.1. While this offer was constrained to a limited time, the response was surprisingly stagnant. Why didn’t more people jump at the chance to snag the latest version of the operating system - especially when it would come at no cost to them?

I recently read a statement from the National Security Agency (NSA) expressing concerns over the risks and vulnerabilities that come with running unpatched versions of older Windows operating systems. First, you know it’s serious if the NSA, an entity in the US who depends on the collection and processing of information, is worried that your personal information is at risk. Second, it’s another in a long line of reasons to not allow your network to fall into such disarray that you can no longer protect it.

You’ve been told that it’s a best practice to ensure that you never leave your workstation without locking it first. Yet, if you’re only stepping away for a few minutes, it might be tempting to just allow it to remain unlocked. But what happens when you step away for longer than expected? You leave your computer exposed to all manners of threats. Thankfully, a new solution allows for a fix with a device that most are never without: the smartphone.

Encryption is one of the most effective ways to secure a file, and even the average user can take full advantage of it on their Windows PC. In essence, you can arrange for your files to appear as random numbers, letters, and special characters in the event that an unauthorized user accesses them.You might be surprised to learn that even your  Windows PC has encryption options so that you can protect your sensitive information if so desired.

As time goes on, operating systems grow old and eventually reach their end-of-support date that’s designated by Microsoft. When this fated day comes, patches and security updates are no longer applied to the expired operating system. To help you better plan for the future, we've compiled a list of various expiration dates for many Windows operating systems.

The hype train keeps chugging along for Windows 10, and it’s obvious why. It’s a great operating system that’s changing the way that businesses handle their daily tasks. But is Windows 10 doing as well as it lets on? According to desktop operating system usage statistics from NetMarketShare, Windows 10’s adoption rate has significantly slowed down in recent months, while more people continue to take advantage of Windows 7 and 8.x. Why?