Use POP email in Windows 8

Use POP email in Windows 8

The Windows Mail app is built for connected devices like mobile phones and tablets, and allows full sync across all your devices. If you move a message into an email folder from your tablet, your phone and computer will also show that same change.

Where Windows 7 required you to install your own email program to get email, Windows 8 now lets you do so right out of the box. And even if your email provider does not support synchronization like this, you still have a few options:

Windows 8 Myths, Busted

Windows 8 Myths, Busted

It’s time to have a frank discussion busting the myths of Windows 8. If you receive nothing else from this, I want you to understand that Windows 8 does not take anything away from you. Anyone claiming otherwise is either trying to spread FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt), quite likely for profit, or is simply unaware of the truth.

Open SkyDrive as a Desktop Folder in Windows RT

Open SkyDrive as a Desktop Folder in Windows RT

With limited storage capacity, it’s not surprising that RT tablets do not sync your cloud-stored files for offline access. Take my SkyDrive for example, which holds over 60 GB of my stuff. While Windows RT does provide a SkyDrive app for access, there are times when it would be useful to open this cloud storage as if it was a local folder or drive.

Pin Your Stuff All Over Windows

Pin Your Stuff All Over Windows

Today it occurred to me that the pin action has really taken off at Microsoft across all products and divisions.  Just like the physical version, pins are used to personalize and post your stuff in-place, wherever you want to place it.  Here’s just a few places you can find this metaphor in Windows, and how to use it effectively.

Sync the Desktop across all your PCs with SkyDrive

Sync the Desktop across all your PCs with SkyDrive

If you’ve been following me here or on twitter, you know I’m a huge proponent of SkyDrive, the online storage space service from Microsoft. SkyDrive makes sharing files a breeze – whether it privately among your private personal computers and devices, discreetly with individuals and colleagues, or publically with the world. SkyDrive is a great addition to (or starting point for) backing up your personal files and documents, safely off-site and yes, in the cloud.

Visual Effects and Performance Options in Windows 8 and 10

Visual Effects and Performance Options in Windows 8 and 10

I’ve written before about the non-intuitive nature of visual effects in recent versions of Windows, where offloading the desktop rendering duties to the graphics card can result in considerable performance improvements.  While this is true for nearly any modern PC, including those with ‘integrated’ graphics cards, there are still steps one may take to enhance performance.

Windows Phone group chat options

Verizon Cripples Group Communication

Sorry Verizon, there’s no easy way to say this. For a communications company, you really suck at enabling your customers to communicate with their world.  In a day where real-time collaboration is a necessity, consumers expect a certain level of functionality. This includes the ability to communicate in text conversations with a group of colleagues.

More Commands in the Quick Access Toolbar [Video]

More Commands in the Quick Access Toolbar [Video]

Pinning submenu commands to the toolbar not only provides more direct access, but also serves as a status indicator to a state that may otherwise be hidden. For example, now I can tell at a glance the status of my Excel workbook calculations, and change it if necessary before I make an edit that would trigger a lengthy calculation.