Author Archives: Russell Smith

Windows 11 on Intel Alder Lake Threatens to Outperform Apple M1 Pro and M1 Max Chips

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At an event on Oct 18th, 2021, Apple announced new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro notebooks, sporting updated M1 processors, the M1 Pro and M1 Max respectively. Released earlier in 2021, the 3-inch MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pros use the first generation of Apple’s M1 chip. At the time of launch, the original M1 […] Continue reading Windows 11 on Intel Alder Lake Threatens to Outperform Apple M1 Pro and M1 Max Chips→

Microsoft is Bringing Update Stack Packages to Windows 11

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As part of Windows 11 Insider Preview build 22478 in the Dev Channel, Microsoft is starting to test a new way to update the servicing stack in Windows. What are Update Stack Packages? Update Stack Packages deliver changes to the Windows 11 update experience before a monthly cumulative update (CU), or yearly feature update, is […] Continue reading Microsoft is Bringing Update Stack Packages to Windows 11→

Microsoft Teams Desktop Client Gets Quoted Reply Feature for Chat

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The Microsoft Teams desktop client is getting a long-awaited feature update that lets you send quoted replies to messages in chat. And it is rolling out now. It might sound like a first world problem, but when chats get long, it can be difficult to keep track of conversations without the ability to quote messages […] Continue reading Microsoft Teams Desktop Client Gets Quoted Reply Feature for Chat→

Patch Tuesday October 2021 – Microsoft Fixes Windows Kernel Zero-Day and Critical Bug in Exchange Server

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This month’s Patch Tuesday for includes a cumulative update (CU) for Windows 11, which was made generally available October 4th. In total Microsoft released patches addressing 71 CVEs in Windows, Edge, Exchange Server, .NET Core, SharePoint Server, and many other products. Two of the CVEs patched this month are rated Critical, and 68 Important. And […] Continue reading Patch Tuesday October 2021 – Microsoft Fixes Windows Kernel Zero-Day and Critical Bug in Exchange Server→

External Sharing and Guest User Access in Microsoft 365 and Teams

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Sharing content with users external to your organization and managing guest user access in Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Teams can be confusing to understand and difficult to manage. If you would like to know more about this important aspect of cloud security, download this free eBook. AvePoint dives into policy considerations you need to make […] Continue reading External Sharing and Guest User Access in Microsoft 365 and Teams→

Endpoint Management 1-Day Virtual Conference Now Available On Demand

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Petri’s Endpoint Management 1-day virtual conference is now available to view on demand. At the end of last month, Petri hosted a full free day of learning, covering topics like how to manage devices using Microsoft Intune, how to deploy new hardware with Windows Autopilot, and managing security updates with Windows Update. The management of […] Continue reading Endpoint Management 1-Day Virtual Conference Now Available On Demand→

Microsoft Teams Gets Faster AI-Powered Search

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Microsoft announced yesterday that it is updating the search experience in its desktop client for Teams. While we wait for Teams 2.0, a complete revamp of the desktop app announced earlier this year, Microsoft is bringing a much-needed update to the way search results are displayed. Starting in November, Microsoft will roll out the changes […] Continue reading Microsoft Teams Gets Faster AI-Powered Search→

Windows 11 New Features, Release Date, and System Requirements

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Windows 11 is generally available this week on October 5th. But while some have dismissed it as just Windows 10 with a fresh coat of paint, there are changes that Microsoft says lead to improved performance, reliability, and security. In this article, I’m going to look at the new features in Windows 11 and how […] Continue reading Windows 11 New Features, Release Date, and System Requirements→

Azure Virtual Desktop Now Comes with Azure AD-Joined VM Support

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Microsoft announced September 22nd that Azure Virtual Desktop now supports Azure Active Directory (AD) joined virtual machines (VM). With this update you can now: Join Azure Virtual Desktop VMs directly to Azure AD Connect to VMs from any device with a username and password And automatically enroll VMs with Microsoft Endpoint Manager (MEM) Before the […] Continue reading Azure Virtual Desktop Now Comes with Azure AD-Joined VM Support→

What’s New with Windows – September 2021

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It’s been a relatively quiet month for Windows as Microsoft gets down to finalizing Windows 11 for an October 5th release. What you need to know Windows 11 is faster than Windows 10 New Surface hardware is announced Passwordless sign-in comes to Microsoft consumer accounts Windows Server 2022 reaches general availability Windows 11 is faster […] Continue reading What’s New with Windows – September 2021→