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What is Caching?If this term isn?t ringing a bell, all you need to know is that it?s basically a component that stores data so that you can view it faster in the future. The main goal of this is to drastically reduce the amount of bandwidth and processing required to deliver the content of the web page to the viewer, ultimately making it a much smoother experience. Loading Cached Chrome PagesYou want to use the cache to your advantage to view pages while you?re offline. Since Chrome doesn?t automatically enable this feature, you have to activate it yourself. To do so, type chrome://flags into the search bar. After reading the slightly humorous tidbit about these add-ons being experimental, locate the feature called Enable Show Saved Copy Button. If you aren?t using the latest version of Chrome, try looking for Enable Offline Load Stale Button. Select Enable from the dropdown menu. You?ll then be prompted to restart Chrome. The next time you visit a web page while you?re offline, so long as you have previously visited the page, you can load the cached version of it. All you need to do is click on the blue button labeled Show Saved Copy. Keep in mind that due to the nature of website caching, you won?t be able to see any updates made to the page since you last visited it. This is the one true downfall of offline viewing. However, this is most useful if you are trying to finish reading an article where you won?t have Internet access. At White Mountain IT Services, we?re all about providing quality tips that help you better understand and operate the technology you work with on a daily basis. Subscribe at the top of the blog to enjoy White Mountain IT Services?s future IT and business tips.

There are three major factors that will see Windows-based tablets become more relevant for business computing. They are integration, security, and simplicity. Microsoft has developed platforms that present options that other mobile computing platforms cannot match, and as the technology becomes more commonplace for productivity, you?ll likely see the Windows-based tablets substantially increase their mobile market share. The first element of Windows-based tablet computing is the availability of machines that allow users to actually be productive while they?re on the go. Tablets are mostly known as consumption-first devices. This traditionally has more to do with their lack of decent software with which to complete work, as well as the touchscreen interface that?s difficult for users to enter commands. Security is strong on Windows 8.1 tablets. Since the OS was developed to run on PCs and mobile devices alike, the software comes with some of the best security features that come on a mobile OS. These include comprehensive device encryption to secure data and a tamper-resistant booting process that prevents unauthorized access and low-level malware infections, respectively. This kind of static computing interface allows users to learn one set of software, which is important when using mobile devices for productivity. Many of today?s Windows tablets run full versions of Windows 8.1, which, unlike other tablet OSs, comes with the very same interface that you would get on a PC. This allows users to familiarize themselves with one piece of software instead of many. The ease-of-use factor significantly contributes to the viability of the device, and with a stylus, the Windows 8.1 tablet is familiar and simple. While Windows tablets have failed to generate the demand that Apple?s iPad or devices running the Android environment have, there has been a pretty drastic shift recently. To alter this course, Microsoft has made a dedicated effort to promote their line of Surface tablets as able to provide a consistent computing interface on each environment, while providing users with a state-of-the-art computing interface for productivity, not just consumption. DevicesThree of the most popular tablets available with the Windows 8.1 OS include:Microsoft Surface Pro 3 – This is Microsoft?s flagship device. They?ve been positioning this device as a completely viable laptop replacement, and if your laptop is a couple of years old, they certainly have a point. The device has a 12.6? screen and comes with a proprietary stylus. The available type cover has been renovated from other versions of the Surface line of tablets. ASUS Transformer Book – ASUS manufactured, running full Windows 8.1, the Asus Transformer Book T200 has a large 11.6? display and comes with a keyboard.Samsung XE500 – The world?s largest mobile device manufacturer has gotten in on the action as well with the XE500. Also with an 11.6? display with an attachable keyboard, it also comes with a Livescribe Smartpen stylus. Windows 10: Microsoft?s Next All-In-One StrategyAs Microsoft begins rolling out their newest OS, Windows 10, the plan is for all levels of the platform to provide the same computing environment, essentially merging the tablet and the PC like never before. This shift is going to change the game for companies that are searching for ways to improve its mobility. Microsoft has announced its Windows 10 release date: July 29, 2015. Subsequently, they have already sent notifications to users of older […]

Unlike Apple and their ecosystem lock strategy, Microsoft rarely produces Windows-based hardware. In fact, one of Microsoft?s most strategic moves over the years has been licensing their software solutions (operating systems, productivity apps, and more) to partner original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), so they could profit from the dissemination of this software without taking on the cost of manufacturing the devices themselves. As a result, over 95 percent of all desktop PCs and laptops run some version of Microsoft Windows. With other software manufacturers finding success in the mobile market, including the skyrocketing popularity of Google?s Android platform (using the same OEM strategy) the world?s largest software developer decided to enter the fray with their Microsoft Surface line of tablets in 2012. Using their ?new? metro user interface, they built a platform deliberately designed to work on mobile; however, there were problems. The first Surface was only offered with the Windows RT operating system. At the time Microsoft was years behind their competition in the most essential element of running a mobile computing system: they lacked applications. The RT version of the Windows 8 software doesn?t support legacy applications, and there weren?t many options on the fledgling Windows Store. It was easy to see how most serious mobile consumers didn?t consider Windows-based tablets viable computing platforms to use for business. This was remedied soon after when Microsoft delivered its first tablet complete with a full version of Windows 8. The Surface Pro provided users the ability to have access to any piece of software they would normally use on a PC, on a mobile computing interface. Since then Microsoft, and its OEMs, have been delivering tablet computers that have the advanced capabilities that come with the Windows 8 operating system. So while application development hasn?t come as far as users would hope (due in large part to a small share in the tablet-computing market), Windows 8 provided an interesting, albeit questionable, opportunity. It was only after Microsoft launched the first service pack to Windows 8, titled, Windows 8.1 that users started to see the viability of the interface for productivity. This is mainly a result from the security and networking capabilities improvements integrated into Windows 8.1. The update added BYOD enhancements, improvements to device mobility (VPN, mobile hotspot integration), and security improvements (remote management, enhanced encryption). With these options more businesses have taken notice of the mobile Windows 8.1 platform. Since it took literal years for Microsoft to develop the software to the point where the ease of use, app development, and integrated security was at the level of the more popular Android and iOS-based platforms, many OEMs haven?t pushed as hard to create and sell consumer-viable tablets that run Windows 8.1. The Windows 8.1 interface, however is one that proposes a great deal of benefit for building a modern office. In part two, we will provide specific examples and suggest devices that can work to securely increase your company?s mobility.