Microsoft is a company that’s well-known for releasing many different versions of the same operating system. With the impending release of Windows 8, they’re aiming to slim down the number offered. There will be a core set of features available across all editions, with each version aimed at different markets.

There are going to be four editions of Windows 8 available at launch:

1. Windows 8. This edition offers all the features the majority of Windows users will need. It will be comparable to Windows 7 Home and Home Premium.
2. Windows 8 Pro. Pro will have Windows 8 components, but also offers more advanced options that businesses and expert users will appreciate. Some of the extras include encryption, virtualization and PC management. Pro will be most useful in a business environment.
3. Windows RT. This version of Windows 8 will come pre-installed on mobile devices and tablets with an ARM processor, which is used primarily in mobile technology. Many of Windows 8’s features will be available on RT, although some older Windows applications will not be compatible. If your company uses Windows tablets or smartphones, chances are you’ll use this OS.
4. Windows 8 Enterprise. Enterprise is an enhanced version of Windows 8 Pro that will be specifically for businesses with Software Assurance agreements. Noted features include stronger virtualization tools, PC management and deployment, and advanced security. At this time there’s no further information on this version, but it looks like a good choice for IT companies.

There’s no official release date for Windows 8 at this time, but it’s expected sometime in the last quarter of this year. If you would like to know more about Windows 8, or any other Microsoft programs please contact us.

Calendars. Businesses have been using them to establish deadlines, meetings and events for as long as we can remember. Having moved from paper to the computer, calendars have become an integral app on smartphones. On our phones, we want to view all our calendars from one platform, and with the iPhone you can do just that.

The three most popular calendar programs are Outlook Calendar, Google Calendar and iCal. Here are the steps you can take to sync your different calendars with the iPhone. These calendars will all be viewable using the Calendar App on your iPhone.

Sync with Outlook Microsoft Outlook is the most popular email program in use, making the accompanying calendar just as prevalent. To sync your Outlook calendar with your iPhone:

1. Open Outlook
   1. Click Tools and select Trust Centre.
   2. Click Add-ins, followed by Details.
   3. Select iTunes Add-in, followed by Manage.
   4. Select Com Add-ins, Go and finally iTunes sync add-in.
   5. Click Ok.
2. Plug your iPhone into your computer using the USB cable. iTunes should open automatically.
3. In iTunes, select your iPhone. It will be located in the left hand bar, under devices.
4. Navigate to the Info tab and check Sync calendars with.
5. Choose Outlook. You’ll be able to select which Outlook calendars you want to view using your iPhone.
6. Press Sync.

Sync with Google Calendar If you use Google Calendar, syncing with the iPhone takes a few more steps, but it’s still fairly straightforward.

1. On your iPhone select Settings followed by Mail, Contacts, Calendars.
2. Press Add Account.
3. Select Microsoft Exchange. Note: Devices running iOS 4.0 can sync with more than one Exchange account. If you’re using a version that’s earlier than 4.0 you’ll only be able to sync with one Exchange account.
4. In the Email and Username fields, enter your full email address e.g., name@gmail.com. If you use a @googlemail.com account you’ll most likely get an Unable to Verify Certificate error message. If you do, press Cancel when the error message is displayed.
5. In the Password field enter the password you use to log into your Gmail account.
6. When you have entered the information, press Next in the top right of your screen.
7. In the Server field enter “m.google.com” (without the quotations).
8. Tap Next.
9. Select Calendar if you only want to sync with your calendar. If your company uses Google Calendar to setup meetings, you’ll also need to turn on Mail.

The calendar should sync automatically and show up on your iPhone within a few minutes.

Sync with iCal If you use iCal you can sync with your iPhone by:

1. Plugging your iPhone into the computer using the USB cable. iTunes should open automatically.
2. Select your iPhone. It will be located in the left hand bar, under devices.
3. Click the Info tab, followed by Sync iCal Calendars. You’ll be able to choose what calendars you would like your iPhone to sync with.
4. Press Sync.

No matter which calendar app you use, you can view it on your iPhone. There’s no need to carry around a day planner or appointment book with you anymore, just carry your phone. If you would like to know more about how to capitalize on the features of the iPhone we’re only a call away.

One selling point of the Mac is that the OS, OSX, is more secure than a computer running Windows. Many Mac users have been lulled into a sense of complacency and have been taking inadequate steps to protect their systems. A recent trojan has shocked these users into reality and left many of them wondering if their systems really are secure.

If you mention “OS X” and “virus” in the same sentence, you’ll get some weird looks from Mac users. Traditionally viruses and trojans on OS X were near non-existent, but there’s a Mac specific trojan, codenamed Flashback, that has affected more than 600,000 computers. This is big news as it shows that machines running OS X may not be as secure as first thought.

Many Mac owners are unsure of what exactly the Flashback trojan is, what it does and how to ensure they’re not infected. We’re here to help clarify the situation.

What is a Trojan and What Does Flashback Do? In general terms, a trojan is a piece of malicious software that infects a computer and gives control of part, or the whole computer to hackers. The Flashback trojan takes advantage of an OS X Java vulnerability and infects computers by tricking them into downloading a fake Java update.

When the program is installed, Flashback will download and install the main trojan code without the need for permission from the administrator. From there it proceeds to hijack your browser, redirect search queries to websites developed by hackers, and then take advantage of pay-per-click advertising.

Why Should I be Worried? While this version hijacks your browser, there are far more sinister things it could do. As this trojan acts as a downloader, there’s nothing stopping the developers from updating the malware to steal passwords, banking information and other confidential information.

How do I Ensure My Mac is Clean? Apple has released an update for machines running OS X 10.6 and later. The first step you should take is to update your computer to patch the vulnerability. To update your Mac:

1. Press the Apple logo, located in the top right hand of your screen.
2. Select Software Update...
3. Press Install and Restart.

While the patch will prevent Flashback from working, it won’t delete the program if you’ve been infected. The Internet security company F-Secure has developed a script that scans your computer and removes Flashback if found. Once you have downloaded the script, open and run it. The script will search your computer and place the infected files in an encrypted ZIP folder labeled Flashback_quarantine.zip.

Flashback has infected a higher number of Macs than any other trojan to date and goes to show that Macs also have security flaws. This also serves as a reminder that you should have a virus scanner and security program running on your Mac. If you have any questions regarding the security of your Mac or other devices, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We are here to help keep your machines secure.

Multitasking has become common in the workplace. We often have our Web browsers using multiple tabs, switch between email, social media and work. Our attention is pulled in 50 different directions and we’re having trouble focusing on one task for more than five minutes. This lack of focus has led to longer, and less productive days.

It’s time to reclaim our focus at work and here are seven tips to help you do so.

1. Practice productivity wind-sprints. While at work, we’re normally doing work while browsing Facebook or chatting. This can be harmful for productivity and shifts your focus from important work related activities. Interval training is a great way to increase your focus. Get a timer, set it for ten minutes, and focus solely on your work. When the timer goes off take a two minute break.
2. Defensive scheduling. Our days are filled with commitments and we struggle to keep up with our projects or find time to work uninterrupted. Schedule a meeting with yourself at a convenient time. Treat this meeting like a real meeting, no interruptions. This is your time to focus on important tasks or projects.
3. Socialize with your tablet. Separate work from social activities with a tablet. We’re often just hitting our stride with work when BING, we get a chat message. What do we do? Immediately reply to the message. When we do that we lose our focus and struggle to regain it. Why not use use your tablet for all social activities and work computer strictly for work? Combined with tip one, this could really help you focus.
4. Realize your unconscious focus. The vast majority of managers often aren’t sure what the top issue in their mind is. It comes with multitasking, we’re always making less important ideas critical, and this takes our focus off the most important issues. To realign your focus take some time, let your mind wander, and make note of the ideas you keep returning to. These are your most critical issues.
5. Focus on most important tasks first. When you get into the office in the morning switch off your phone and email alerts. Focus on your most important priorities, this will give you time to get your most important work out of the way, before you shift your focus onto other less important projects.
6. Disconnect. Many of us don’t take time to give our brains a rest, we’re always thinking and possibly worrying about work. It’s beneficial to your mental and physical health if you take time each day to disconnect from the office. Temporarily sever all ties with the office and focus on something you enjoy doing. Remember, this is your time don’t think of work, focus on the activity.
7. Can’t focus? Consider if what you’re doing is right for you. If you find that you really can’t focus, even with the previous techniques, it might be time to consider that what you’re doing is actually something you don’t care about or enjoy. If this is true for you, then it’s time to start looking for a change.

With these tips you should see an increase in your focus and productivity. If you would like to know more about how to improve your productivity please contact us, we can help.

Companies are always looking for ways to make their employees’ jobs easier while increasing efficiency. This includes using devices, and one such device has caught the eye of many: the iPad. Originally aimed at private users, businesses have found that the iPad has some incredibly useful features for when it comes to developing and giving presentations.

If you’re on the road and give lots of presentations, the iPad can be the perfect tool as it allows you to leave the laptop at home, or in the hotel room. Here are three programs that are great for creating and giving presentations on the iPad, and what you need to give presentations on big-screens such as projectors and TVs.

Keynote Keynote is Apple’s presentation software. With this app, users can create some really professional looking presentations with ease. The one downside to Keynote is that it has trouble interacting with presentations created using Microsoft PowerPoint. Some fonts, clipart and animations used by PowerPoint and not Apple, will simply not copy over.

SlideShark SlideShark is perfect for users who aren’t comfortable with Keynote or are more comfortable with Microsoft PowerPoint. It works by uploading your presentations using SlideShark, converting them into a format the iPad can read and syncing them with the iPad. This is a great app for users of PCs.

Power Presenter This app is for presenters who want to give presentations on a projector, as its main purpose is to make it easier for the iPad and projectors to sync with one another. After you’ve finished your presentation, save it as a PDF and hook up your iPad to the projector you’ll be using. The app will simultaneously show the presentation on the screen and your iPad. This app is good if you don’t have the time to set up the projector whenever you give a presentation.

What You Need to Give Presentations When you switch over to using the iPad for presentations, you’ll need two adapters that allow you to hook the iPad up to the various different visual outputs e.g., TV screens and projector units.

The first adapter is a VGA adapter which will allow you to connect your iPad to the majority of projectors. When you give a presentation using a projector, plug the VGA cable into your iPad and the projector, and you should be ready to give your presentation.

The second adapter is for TVs and projectors that use HDMI outputs. Apple calls this adapter a “Digital AV Adapter” and it can be found on the Apple Store. When you plug in the adapter, your display should show up on both the screen and your iPad.

If you have any questions about using your iPad to give presentations or other uses for your Apple products, please contact us. We’re more than happy to sit down and discuss solutions with you.

There are many tools businesses use during their day-to-day operations, but only a few are used by businesses across all industries. One that will be familiar to all is the office suite; comprised of a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation software and an email client. The most popular being Microsoft Office, which Microsoft has recently moved to the cloud.

Microsoft’s cloud based office suite for businesses is called Microsoft Office 365. Office 365 includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote - and Microsoft Server products e.g., Lync 2010 and SharePoint Server. All programs are accessed via a Web browser, offering users the ability to access the programs from the office, home or anywhere in between.

On March 14, 2012 Microsoft held a press conference announcing that the price of Office 365 subscriptions will be reduced by up to 20%. This decrease will apply to all new and renewing direct customers.

The price cut is a great advantage to many potential customers as it makes Office 365 more competitive with other cloud based office solutions such as Google Apps. This is also beneficial as many businesses already use the desktop versions of Microsoft Office. If they switch to Office 365, employees will be comfortable with the cloud version, as the software is exactly the same as the desktop version.

It’s the perfect time to look into Office 365 and see what it can bring to your organization. If you’d like to learn more about Microsoft Office 365 or other products from Microsoft, we are your go-to experts and will be more than happy to help.

If there is one single thing that makes Anchor Network Solutions great, it’s the amazing team of employees we have. Everyone on the team is instrumental to the company’s success and we want to take time to recognize them and help you get to know them better. So let’s kick off this month by sharing more about Help Desk Engineer, Mike Stewart.

Mike reports to Jacee Dobbs, our Help Desk Manager and Jacee had this to say about Mike:

“In a very short time, Anchor has already began to reap the benefits of having Mike on our team. He is level headed, calm, and possesses a drive to learn and improve. Mike has worked on several projects with Michael McFarland with great success and is quickly becoming well versed in server and network troubleshooting. His personality makes him a great candidate to work with those people who need a bit more reassuring and patience, which is a must in our industry! We are excited to see what the future holds for Mike and have big plans for him with Anchor.”

Want to know more about Mike? Read on!

Q. What do you do at Anchor?

MS: I am a Help Desk Engineer.

Q. Is there a specific project or projects that you have worked on recently that you are most proud of?

MS: The Project I’ve been most proud of is the Client Onboarding and Network Documentation of Christ Lutheran Church. It has given me the opportunity to meet the new clients and personally make a good impression of who Anchor is and the quality of service that we stand for.

Q. Specific clients that you have enjoyed working with?

MS: All of our clients are a pleasure to work with. One client that sticks out is Rocky Mountain Youth Clinics. I got to spend some time at the Aurora office and all the ladies there were a pleasure to work with. Plus what they do is simply amazing.

Q. What do you feel is your “power move” within the company?

MS: My calming personality. I can take a stressful situation and make it easy going. I have a calming effect on the people around me and I can turn their problems into solutions.

Q. What are your hobbies?

MS: I enjoy bowling and golfing, I also love to figure things out by taking them apart. I wasn’t always able to put them back together but I’ve gotten much better over time.

Q. What is the last concert you saw?

MS: The last concert I saw was Nickelback, and Papa Roach. It was awesome!

Q. What is the last movie you saw?

MS: I go to movies at least once a week. I just saw “The Cabin in the Woods”

Q. If you were stranded on a deserted island, what is the one food you could not live without?

MS: SUSHI!

Q. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?

MS: Ireland. I have Irish in my blood and I always wanted to go to Ireland.

Q. If Hollywood made a movie about your life, whom would you like to see play the lead role as you?

MS: Jason Segel. He is very funny just like me.

Q. Favorite sports team and/or athlete?

MS: The Dallas Cowboys, since I was nine years old!

Q. If you could have three wishes, what would they be?

MS: 10 Billion Dollars. That my friends and family live a long healthy life. For 100 more wishes to use when I need them.

Q. What have you not done that you really want to do?

MS: I would love to Skydive.

Q. What is the wallpaper on your cell phone?

MS: Assassins Creed Brotherhood. It’s a video game.

Q. What can you do that most people cannot?

MS: When I bowl my ball curves.

Q. What is the last book you read?

MS: I don’t read much but I just finished the Hunger Games

Q. How would you describe yourself in three words?

MS: Calm, Caring. Trustful.

Q. Anything else we should know about you?

MS: My son Michael Edward Stewart JR was born on April 18th 2012 at 7:26pm. He weighed 5 pounds, 13 oz and was 18.5 inches long. Michael is our first child. Our parents are over the moon especially Rosa’s mom because this is her first grandchild. Michael is my parents 6th grandchild although he is their first grandson.

Congratulations to Mike and Rosa and thank you Mike, for all your hard work on our Help Desk team. We are very happy to have you as part of the Anchor family.

Each month Anchor Network Solutions will spotlight one of their many unique clients that look to us to manage their IT needs.

We will highlight best business practices, the challenges they face and why their relationship with Anchor is crucial in the running of their day-to-day business. We then give each client an opportunity to ask Anchor a question. It may be technical, personal or out in left field.

Read on to find out more!

Up this month: Metro West Housing Solutions.

Located at 575 Union Blvd, Suite 100 Lakewood, CO 80228, Metro West Housing Solutions is a non-profit property developer, manager, and human services provider. Metro West Housing Solutions’ staff of 54 owns and manages apartments in Lakewood and Denver, provides Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers to eligible Lakewood residents, and facilitates a wide range of human services for clients.

We thank Kim Buehler, Chief Administrative Officer of Metro West Housing Solutions for her responses to the following questions:

Q. What brought you to your current role with Metro West Housing Solutions?

KB: After 20 years of managing human services for the City of Lakewood, the Housing Authority made the decision to become a stand-alone agency and no longer under the umbrella of the City of Lakewood. Metro West Housing Solutions needed someone to handle the administrative functions including employee relations, payroll, risk management, purchasing, etc. and the Executive Director asked me to make the move to the “new” agency. I said yes and the rest of is history.

Q. What are some of the daily business challenges you face?

KB: Every day is new and interesting. We are never sure when a client will call with a concern, a resource we have never encountered is needed, a personnel issue may arise or there’s a hail storm and we have to figure out how to quickly replace 10 roofs damaged by the storm. The challenges keep our jobs interesting and allow each of us to creatively solve problems and grow with each decision that is made.

Q. What service do you provide that no other organization provides? (i.e. what makes your organization unique?)

KB: Metro West Housing Solutions is unique in our culture and quality customer service. There are many other Housing Authorities, but we take pride in our quality staff, values, and ability to provide quality housing to those we serve. Metro West Housing Solutions is “more than a roof”.

Q. What’s a success story for Metro West Housing Solutions?

KB: Our success is built around our clients. By assisting families with housing, they are able to maintain jobs, better provide for their families and further they education. As they do these things, they are able to move off housing assistance and become self-sufficient and contributing members of our community. Many of our activities, from development, educating staff and clients on being green, providing resident services and managing affordable housing provide members of our community with the tools they need to transform their lives.

Q. What do you do when you aren’t working?

KB: With two kids in college, it seems that we are always on the road to watch a performance or deliver something needed or forgotten at home. It’s nice that both kids chose colleges close enough to home that it allows us to do these things. Otherwise, I’m still a volunteer for Girl Scouts, coaching and mentoring young ladies through their Gold Awards, the highest award in Girl Scouts.

Q. Metro West Housing Solutions have been using Anchor’s services since 2009. Why is the relationship crucial in the running of your day-to-day business?

KB: Anchor manages the IT for our agency. Anchor is crucial to our business because so much of what we do is through technology. The knowledge that our server is taken care of and running efficiently saves me from worrying about whether or not we are able to do business. The best part is the relationship. Anchor knows our business needs and proactively addresses them. The staff at Anchor also know us as individuals. With Anchor, it’s not a business relationship, but rather a personal relationship that they work hard to maintain.

To learn more about Kim and Metro West Housing Solutions, please contact
303-987-7808 or visit, mwhsolutions.com

Stage 2 is coming, and the focus of the electronic medical record (EMR) community is shifting from the capture, to the exchange of health information. According to one industry insider, when it comes to true interoperability, here are 10 things your EMR may need:

1. Single sign-on (SSO). Applications tend to proliferate, and if you don't allow people to switch between these applications using a common login and password, users will get frustrated and give up.
2. Context transitions. As applications grow, and you need to integrate them into an EMR, SSO won’t be enough, because you’ll still lose the “active patient or task" being performed. You’ll also need to provide for the transition of context between applications.
3. Widget publishing. EHRs often have hundreds of functions, and if some are exportable or publishable as widgets, they become much easier to integrate into new user interfaces in the future.
4. Widget consumption. EMRs will become more like containers of cross-application functionality than innate functionality, so consuming widgets will be a basic requirement.
5. Mash-ups. EMRs should allow access to their content through the content management interoperability services (CMIS) standard, thereby allowing users to unlock content they have in various health records.
6. Customizable dashboards. EMRs should provide dashboards that can be tailored by organization, user role, or even user.
7. Interactive Voice Response (IVR). IVR, which allows an EMR to interact with users through phones and other voice systems, such as Skype, will improve collaboration with patients and other physicians who aren’t at a computer.
8. Voice recognition. This will help users conduct EMR tasks more efficiently.
9. Natural language understanding. Because most EMR data is entered by humans, an EMR must integrate with systems that can convert the spoken word or typed text to structured data.
10. Customizable data import and export. A good EMR must allow customizable importing and exporting of simple lists in common formats, such as Excel, CSV and XML.

Details about these tips, and an additional two not discussed above, can be found here.

The success of your IT depends on a strategic plan that defines your practice’s needs and looks to optimize your workflow. Ideally this plan will focus on both the patient and staff experience. Here are five considerations that can help get you started.

1. Improve the patient experience. Many healthcare practitioners consider the patient experience a major challenge, yet don’t give much thought to how IT can improve it. Consider what you can do electronically to support patients, whether they're in your facility or not. Electronic forms? Email and text message reminders and confirmations? Kiosks?
2. Consider best practices. Technology can help you get to know your patients better. The Web, for example, can be used as a first point of engagement. Ask a few questions of visitors, then tailor your responses to their needs. A patient interested in a first consultation would receive different information than one preparing for his or her first round of cancer treatment.
3. Don’t forget the staff! Your staff needs successful workflows to interact effectively with patients. Common errors are multiple devices and different logins. Keep in mind how clinicians work to develop efficiencies. Your staff needs to be able to provide clinical care without being tied to a PC.
4. Use social media. Social media often isn’t included in IT planning, as it’s usually more of a marketing consideration. Without thinking about how it will be used, it will become difficult for patients and staff to have a singular experience. Your IT department needs to work with other departments to develop a social media plan that will yield a consistent presentation to the end user.
5. Use integrative planning. Typically, IT does its strategic planning in isolation. Ideally though, IT would plan with other departments. This “integrative planning” allows for a consistent plan supported by all parts of the practice.