Friday, August 11, 2023

Fwd: Easily jump between Windows 11 and Windows 365 (& Win-365 reviews)

Microsoft will let you jump between Windows 11 and Windows 365 with the flip of a switch (Aug 2023):
https://www.windowscentral.com/software-apps/streaming-video/disney-plus-subscription-plans-spike-in-price-ad-supported-plans-are-unaffected

 Please read this blog post for all the details on how to participate: https://go.redirectingat.com/?id=23432X820454&xcust=wp_us_9173243372859942000&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Ftechcommunity.microsoft.com%2Ft5%2Fwindows-it-pro-blog%2Fwindows-365-switch-now-available-in-public-preview%2Fba-p%2F3891857&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.windowscentral.com%2Fsoftware-apps%2Fwindows-11%2Fmicrosoft-will-let-you-jump-between-windows-11-and-windows-365-with-the-flip-of-a-switch

Windows 365 review:
Can Windows in the cloud replace your PC (Sept 2021)?
A solid start for cloud-based Windows, although not without performance problems
https://www.itpro.com/cloud/cloud-computing/360760/windows-365-review-can-windows-in-the-cloud-replace-your-pc
"Pros:
    +     Easy deployment
    +     Works well across a variety of devices
    +     Perfect for the new homeworking era
Cons:
    -     A bewildering number of configurations
    -     No graphics performance to speak of
    -     Not ideal for videoconferencing"

"Windows 365 is designed to let employees stream a full Windows desktop from whatever hardware they have to hand – an old desktop PC, a MacBook, even an iPad."
"Running Windows 365 in the Vivaldi browser on our MacBook Pro, for instance, worked okay, with the Windows desktop automatically resizing to the shape and size of the browser window. But the MacBook's webcam wasn't recognised when we attempted a Google Meet, and pressing print on a Word document resulted in nothing more than a PDF being made available to download.
Running that same instance using the Microsoft Remote Desktop app made all those problems melt away: the printer connected to our home-office Wi-Fi network was automatically recognised, the webcam kicked in, and as an added bonus the Windows desktop was now spread across both our external monitor and attached laptop, rather than merely being confined to a browser window."
"If an employee's job involves lots of big file transfers, this set-up could prove much more efficient than a local machine, where the bottleneck is the speed of their broadband connection."


Microsoft 365 Personal Review (Mar 2023) - Microsoft's Office apps are still the best:
https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/microsoft-365-personal
"Microsoft 365—the current name for the apps and services formerly known as Office 365—is the behemoth of office suites and the one every competitor tries to match. It runs almost everywhere, with full-featured editions for Windows and macOS, surprisingly powerful apps for iOS and Android, and slick web-based versions. Microsoft 365 has all the collaborative features found in cloud-only suites like Google Workspace, plus all the benefits of disk-based apps: speed, security, and the ability to work offline."

"Pros:
  * Most powerful office apps of any competitor
  * Available on almost all platforms
  * Smooth collaboration features
  * Elegant, user-friendly interface with extensive help features
  * All-in-one app for mail, contacts, and calendar
Cons:
  * Problems accessing documents through web browsers during testing
  * Automated features in Word produce some unpredictable results
  * Some advanced features can be hard to access"


"A Microsoft 365 Personal subscription costs $69.99 per year and includes access to Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, and Skype apps for one user on up to five devices. It also gets you 1TB of OneDrive online storage. You also get Sway for interactive online reports and presentations, forms for creating surveys and quizzes, and Microsoft's to-do list app, To Do."
"Early in 2023, Microsoft announced an even cheaper option, Microsoft 365 Basic, which gets you 100GB of OneDrive storage and includes only the web and mobile versions of the apps, but it costs just $1.99 per month or $19.99 per year.
...
These prices are roughly comparable to Google Workspace, which changes $6 and $12 per month, respectively, for its Business Starter and Business Standard plans."


Windows 365: Hands on with Microsoft's pricey new Cloud PC subscriptions (Aug 2021):
https://www.zdnet.com/article/windows-365-hands-on-with-microsofts-pricey-new-cloud-pc-subscriptions/
"What if you could replace your physical PC with a virtual alternative that lived permanently in the cloud? What if you could sign in to that PC on any desktop PC, Mac, or mobile device and pick up exactly where you left off last time, with all your apps and data files ready to go?
That's the promise of Microsoft's new Windows 365 service, which offers subscribers a Cloud PC running Windows 11..."
"After I assigned the Windows 365 license to a user account, I needed to choose a virtual hardware configuration, which involves a combination of virtual CPUs (up to 8), RAM (up to 32GB), and storage (up to 512GB). The more resources you assign to the Cloud PC, the higher the monthly subscription price."
"The browser is fine for casual connections, but you'll have a better experience using Microsoft's Remote Desktop client ...
On a Windows 10 PC, you can configure the Cloud PC to run in a window or to use the full screen (and even use all displays in a multi-monitor configuration). That experience is virtually indistinguishable from how you'd work with a local PC."
"If a Cloud PC can allow a remote employee to work from home on a personal PC without the company having to buy, ship, and support a fully managed, company-issued PC, the cost might even result in net savings. Those remote employees can have secure access to a managed Cloud PC on any personal device, such as a home PC, an iPad, or even a mobile phone."


Microsoft Office 365 Review
(Jun 2022):  https://www.crazyegg.com/blog/microsoft-office-365-review/
"While Microsoft Office 365 offers a wide range of amazing features, it isn't the only option in the market. We've compiled a list of a few other office suite software that take productivity to the next level to help you pick a solution that's most suitable based on your requirements and budget.
    Google Workspace — The Best for Most
    Microsoft 365 — The Best for Online And Offline Use
    Zoho Workplace — The Best Bare-Bones Basic Suite
    iWork — The Best for Apple Devices
    WPS Office — The Best Microsoft Clone for Non-Microsoft Users"


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