Tag: Microsoft Training Minneapolis
Google Apps Email Setup & Assistance In The Twin Cities
If you are here looking for help with setting up Google apps, you came to the right place.
We have many ways we can help you. The best way to start though is to call in and request a meeting with our Google Apps Manager at 612-865-4475. We will need at least 15 minutes to discuss your email needs and determine if Google Apps is the best way to manage your email for you and your company.
A bit about Google Apps:
Here is our easy to understand guide to transitioning from your current email to Google Apps!
- 15-20 minute discussion about your current email needs and what you want to do with your current technology and what your company needs. Maybe Google Apps isn’t the right choice, but we can help you figure that out!
- We will help you make a decision based on your budget and size of your company
- We will set up a transition plan and a date to move forward
- We will help you back up your current email – calendar and contacts to a local computer
- We work with a Google Expert to do the back end transition to insure your email is secured and moved in a swift and quick manner.
- On your transition date, we will have plenty of staff available to do the transition and import in your old email to your Google Apps accounts/Outlook.
- Once your email is configured and working fine, then we will set your smartphones.
- You will be in the cloud and happy as a clam!
Additional information for Outlook users:
- We will reivew your current Outlook PST fiiles to insure that you only need to move over data that you need to use with Google Apps. Like all synchronizing software, less is more. We may archive some of your old email for you to easily access at any time on one main computer.
Pinterest crashes my Outlook. Does it crash yours, too?
A few weeks ago, I received an email from Pinterest telling me that I had a friend on Facebook following me. Naturally I was excited to have a new follower, until I noticed that when I went to click on that email….my entire Outlook just froze up. Now I didn’t get the Outlook 2010 white screen of death, but my Outlook just froze completely. At first I was a bit shocked, but after a minute or so it unfroze and I was back to business. I thought it was a one-time glitch, but apparently not. It started happening each and every time I received an email from Pinterest and it’s starting to irritate me. Here is an example of the email…
After doing some investigation, I figured out that it’s a back end plug in from Facebook causing this issue. I found this out when I finally opened Outlook and some random rogue plug in showed up. I’m very annoyed because it came and went so fast and I can’t find it in my Outlook settings anywhere to disable it.
I wanted to blog about this for those that are having the same issue. Please comment below if you are! I will contact you if you leave your email. This is an issue that has yet to be fixed and I want it resolved!
Why you should be careful when buying Microsoft Office on the Internet
I’ve had a few clients call in this year with problems with the Office products they purchased online. They either downloaded a pirated version and had to get their money back from their credit card, or they just had tons of issues with the installation causing many other problems.
When most of us need software, we go to our favorite search engine (mine is Google) and type in what we are looking for. Many of us want to save money, because software is expensive! But….if you end up buying a product that is from a site selling illegitimate copies, you will have a few more headaches to deal with as Microsoft will not activate products they do not sell licenses for. As well, 30 days after a purchase, you may have problems. Or, if you try to re-install, you will have problems.
Or you may not and get lucky. I recommend just paying full price; own it and use it as you wish.
Here is an example of a search in Google for “Microsoft Office.” These are the top 4 searches. The top 2 are actual paid ads from Microsoft. The 3rd one down…is a store selling products for WAY CHEAP. I would be leary of buying that product.
Having issues with your Microsoft Office products? Fill out the form below and we’ll help you out!
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Outlook, Gmail and iPhone Syncing Minneapolis, MN
Not sure how it’s done? We can help!
We can remote into your computer and set up your Outlook and your smartphone to “synchronize” together via our tools that are paid for or with free applications. If you really want a robust email/calendar we can move your company’s emails/calendar and contacts to a “hosted exchange” that is yep, in the Cloud! The Cloud is exciting, it allows you so much more freedom to be anywhere at any time and have real-time updates and synching of your stuff so you can rest assured you’re saving time without seeing duplicates!
We can even put your files in the “Cloud” so all of your word documents and excel files are accessible anywhere. Call That Girl’s support team is fully trained on cloud software and apps on phones, so you can trust your data in our hands.
We also do online backups, so there is no need for those old hardware driven servers. Use your own computer as a server, save money and time. Schedule an appointment today to find out how we can do just about everything you need in the cloud.
Our one time set up fees and prepay blocks of remote support time get you out of those irritating monthly payments and hardware upgrades. Move to the Cloud and enjoy a stress free business day!
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https://plus.google.com/100147097284628132482/postsSix Outlook Tips That You Need To Know
Many of our clients use Outlook and most of the tips below are things I review with the clients when they call in with problems. Not every tip pertains to everyone, but overall these are great tips for Outlook users.
TIP: Outlook by default opens a PST File (Personal Storage) in a hidden file on your computer. That is where most of your email and folders probably are. Not everyone knows this and it’s very important that you back up that PST file often. If your computer crashes, the PST is just as important as your pictures and music!
TIP: if your Outlook is getting slow to open, you may want to see how large your PST file is. Some versions of Outlook will lock you out if it gets too large. If you have a newer copy of Outlook, you have a lot more room. But keep this in mind, the larger your PST file, the longer it will take to open. I won’t get into technical talk about this, but if your Outlook is slow to open, call us for a quick review on it, we can help you move off old emails to another PST and get your Outlook in good shape again.
TIP: Using multiple computers and am sick of dealing with mail everywhere? I happen to use a IMAP instead of (Pop3) that synchronizes all of my email and folders. I was at a place a few months ago where I had 4 computers I was checking email on and was just tired of all the extra work I had to do to manage the email. If you are interested in learning more about this, contact us for a review.
TIP: Set up rules and make your life easier! I have been doing this for years and LOVE IT. If I happen to get a ton of email from one person, I give them a folder and a rule. When I get an email from that person, it goes right to the folder I need. Outlook marks it unread, so you know there is new email there.
TIP: Looking for a calendar sync tool? I have been using the Google calendar with my Outlook for a couple of months and have to admit, I really like it. As many of you know, I’m not a big fan of using Google for everything, but I am liking this calendar option. You have to invite yourself to the event, and then it syncs to your Outlook calendar. I have my assistant do all the bookings on the Google calendar and I get the invites on my Blackberry and every computer I have Outlook on. I really dig this!
TIP: Be sure to check your junk e-mail folders! So many of us forget to check that folder, and I have found many important emails sneaking in there! Why is that? Because of the subject line. The person sent it with a title that was caught by spam/junk filters. I think checking that daily is important, you can mark what is not spam/junk to make sure that those emails come to your regular inbox.
Outlook vs. Gmail, Which One Should You Choose?
In the past year, many people have moved to the popular Gmail and apps for running their email system. Some of these people completely got off using Outlook and moved to the web based Gmail and smartphone/iPad/tablet instead. Some continued to use Outlook for their email reader but used the Gmail servers. As an avid fan and knowledgeable troubleshooter of Outlook, I never feared everyone leaving Outlook for Gmail, but wondered how this Gmail would change business email.
This past week I have received three calls from clients asking to get back on Outlook and off of Gmail servers, too many glitches and issues. So needless to say, I was quite happy to hear that folks are coming back to Outlook and using their own servers for email again. YAY.
Here are a few factors to consider before switching over to Gmail if you are on the fence. (or just submit a request and have us help you)
If you are an average emailer and want a decent free email, Gmail is the way to go. I have to recommend it over yahoo, hotmail and other free email services. I see less hacking from Gmail and it does play nicely with Outlook for the most part. I will tell folks that it’s sometimes simple to set up Gmail in Outlook, sometimes not. Usually it is. Call us at 612-865-4475 if you are confused.
If you are in business for yourself and have your own website domain and email from a company such as Go Daddy, then staying on your own system is what I recommend. Outlook and Go Daddy play fairly well together and if you have two computers, I recommend getting IMAP, so you can have the two computers and Outlook synchronize. Go Daddy’s support is very good and fairly quick, so if you have an issue with your email, contacting them is a breeze.
If you are in business for yourself and want to use Gmail and other Google products, then most of my clients have a software company move all of their information to Google for them. Not many people do it themselves and we here at Call That Girl do not offer that service. Mostly because we are a Microsoft shop and support Microsoft products. Clash of the titans? Nah, I just don’t believe in everything being in the cloud. I really like that email can be stored offline and backed up locally. I also like that many email accounts can be run in Outlook with different inboxes and managed separately. I don’t like Gmail folder structure either, but then again, I am old school Outlook and to get me to move will be very difficult, if never.
Don’t get me wrong, I am a fan of some Google products, like the calendar synch tool, gtalk and their analytics, but that’s about it. I have been troubleshooting Gmail for years and am quite knowledgable about the product, just not a fan of it. So if you are reading this blog and are on the fence yourself on what choice to make, feel free to comment below and I will try to help figure out your best course of action. Check out our website to find out more about our other areas of expertise!
