Monday, September 29, 2014

Why Is Outlook 2013 One Of The Best Email Programs

Outlook is an email client application from the software giant, Microsoft, which has a simple interface and large number of features. It comes as one of the programs in Microsoft Office Suite application. However, users can also purchase it as a standalone application. Microsoft has released several versions of Outlook and Outlook 2013 is the latest. Microsoft Outlook price vary in different markets due to local taxes. In this post, we will take you through the various features of Outlook 2013.

Navigation bar

You may use the navigation bar in the program to increase the speed of your communication. You may use it to access calendar, tasks, contacts and emails much faster.

Inclusion of social connectors

Stay updated with the posts and news in social networking sites with the help of social connectors included in the program. You will find social connectors for Facebook, LinkedIn and many more in the program.

ActiveSync support

The program provides Exchange ActiveSync support and with this, you can make sure that you do not miss an email, contact or appointments that are in Outlook.com or Hotmail.

If you have multiple contacts added in the program, you may use the People Card function in the program, which will let you combine the contacts to a single view. This will also help you to avoid duplication.

Share calendar

You may use Outlook to share calendar with your colleagues. With this, you can schedule meeting and plan things based on the schedule. This helps to increase the efficiency of your work.

Peeks

This addition to Outlook helps you to get a peek at the schedules set in the program. You may also find the details of emails without having to navigate to the email window with this feature.

Search function

Outlook 2013 comes with enhanced search functions. These functions help you to find and locate emails, calendars, attachments, contacts, messages etc. within seconds.

Weather bar

Now you can find the weather forecast of your area with the new weather bar included in the program.

Filters

The latest version of Outlook comes with a wide range of filters that are designed to help you work with the email program more conveniently.

With the above features in Outlook 2013, it is one of the best email applications. You may download the program from the Microsoft website. Microsoft Outlook price may vary from one country to another.

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Test Patch To Fix Windows 8 Upgrade Bug Rolled Out In Select Regions

The Redmond giant has released a test patch to fix Microsoft errors such as the Windows 8.1 Update bug. Reports suggest that the patch will enable Windows 8 users to upgrade to Windows 8.1 without any potential issues. A test patch with similar effects has been released to address update issues with Windows RT as well. Sources privy to Microsoft reported that almost all Windows 8 editions confronted the update bug. The problem arises when Windows 8 users attempt to upgrade their operating system to the latest Windows 8.1 update. Microsoft released Windows 8.1 last year as a remedy to the increasing number of Windows 8 problems.

Microsoft hoped that the test patch would address the current Windows 8.1 upgrade issue and help users make a smooth and error free upgrade to the new operating system. Nevertheless, the tech giant said that the test patch would be rolled out only in select areas now. The decision to roll out the update to other regions will be made only after the research team gets feedbacks from users in the select areas. UK, USA and Germany are included in the select areas where Microsoft will roll out the test patch initially.

How to download the test patch fix?

If you belong to the select areas where Microsoft is releasing the test patch, you are eligible to the download and install the test patch fixes. It is a simple process. First of all, visit Microsoft support site and verify whether you are eligible for the test patch fix. You should be a valid Windows 8 user in order to install the test patch.

Once you are certain that you are a valid Windows 8 user and belong to the select region, visit the Windows Update site. You will find the link to download the patch here. Click the link to download the patch. Wait for a few seconds while the patch is being downloaded. Follow the prompts to complete the installation of the patch. You can decide now whether to proceed with automatic upgrade or manual upgrade.

What if the test patch doesn’t work?

There is no guarantee that the patch will fix Microsoft errors such as Windows Upgrade problems. It is only a test patch and Microsoft is still testing its reliability. If you face any issues while executing the test patch to fix the Windows 8 upgrade issues, feel free to get in touch with our Microsoft help desk.

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Microsoft Releases Outlook Web App For Android

The Gmail icon on the home screen of your phone may get some company from the people at Microsoft. For this to happen, you should already have an Office 365 business mailbox installed in your phone. Microsoft has recently released a public beta version of Outlook Web App (OWA) webmail service that is intended for Android devices. Microsoft had previously announced their plans to launch such an app in late March. Outlook Web App is used mainly by Office 365 business subscribers or the Microsoft Exchange Server users. The requirements of the latest Android app states that it can only be used by Office 365 business plans now.

The OWA also needs Android 4.4 KitKat or later to run and is recommended for use in devices that have normal or small sized displays. In other words, tablets and phablets are not meant for this first release of the Outlook Web App. As this is not the final build, it is much likely that more features will be added over time and the users can expect to encounter a few bugs while using the beta Outlook Web App. As for the features that are now available, the users of OWA for Android will be able to look up a contact or check their schedule through voice commands and they will also be able to access their calendar.

The ability of using the voice of the user to look up a contact or to check out the schedule seems to be appealing to many of the users. The Calendar and People features in Outlook Web App have also been optimized for the Android app. Microsoft said that they will be taking feedback from this beta releases and will make use of it to add features together with support for more Android devices in the forthcoming updates. Microsoft had made its other Office web apps like Excel, Word, and PowerPoint free to use for the Android devices. It is rumored that the company will release full featured Office apps for the Android OS sometime before end of 2014.

If you would like to know how to get Microsoft Outlook Web App for Android, you can contact the Outlook help and support team. They will be able to help you understand more on the Outlook Web App for Android and will help you get Microsoft Outlook Web App working on your Android device. 

Monday, September 1, 2014

About The Outlook Webmail App For Android

Microsoft’s revived Outlook webmail service has been getting some good reviews recently, especially since they added a few new updates to it. You might already know about Microsoft Outlook webmail app for the Android platform. These days, we no longer go online to access different services from a browser on mobile devices. We use apps instead. Outlook webmail app does exactly that on your Android smartphone.

About Microsoft Outlook app for Android

Outlook webmail app is easy to setup and use. The app is available for download at the Google Play store. However, I should mention here that the app developed by Microsoft bears their stamp. Microsoft assigned this task to the tech firm Seven Networks. This decision did attract some criticism recently, when it was revealed that there are no encryption security features in this app. You can read the report about this published by the tech security firm Include Security online.

So, if you are using this app in your Android mobile phone, I suggest you use any of the encryption software available to secure those Outlook messages, especially the ones you are storing in the memory card. Someone can just remove the card and read your mails on any other device.

When we keep aside this flaw, Outlook webmail app is indeed the smoothest way of accessing your emails online. It works almost like a mail client storing your email messages in the smartphone itself, which you can access whenever you want. Of course, as already mentioned, it might not be a smart idea to store them on your memory card due to low security measures.

Microsoft took care of the many problems reported by the users about some of the features in the app by releasing an update to the app in the last few months. If you updated your Outlook webmail app recently, you might have noticed some improvements in the functioning of this app.

One of the earlier complaints from the users was about the syncing function between the app and the online server. In the latest version, synchronizing is much easier. Also, you no longer have to download a particular mail in order to view it when searching from the app. The new search feature in the app will look into the messages stored in both your app as well as the online mail server.

So, if you have not installed the Outlook webmail app in your Android smartphone yet, visit the Google Play store and get it for free today.