Coleman Technologies Blog

However, as with any changes you are considering to your computer, you should lean on your IT resource to determine if it’s okay to make these adjustments. Better yet, IT may want to make them for you. One way or another, make sure you get the all-okay before switching anything on a work device.

Cleansing of Bloatware
Whether you picked something up during your browsing or the device’s manufacturer installed it during production, your computer can easily collect programs known as bloatware or adware. These programs, while not always harmful per se, can easily eat up system resources for nothing. Ask your IT resource to seek out these programs and eliminate them for you. This alone may result in some considerable boosts to your computing speeds.

Adjust Power Settings
While it may sound like a good idea, the Power saver plan that comes baked-into Windows 10 can actually make your experience as a user more of a pain. This is because this setting cuts your device’s processes to minimum so that energy can be conserved. Furthermore, desktops are plugged in as a rule, leaving little reason to use Power saver anyways. To improve performance on your Windows 10 laptop, stick to the Balanced power option when unplugged, and switch to High when power is available.

Kill Windows Tips and Tricks
Yes, it’s ironic that we’re recommending that you disable Windows Tips and Tricks in a tip-based blog post, but there are a few compelling reasons to do so. Most pertinent to our current conversation, the fact that Windows is analyzing your usage with these capabilities enabled means that your device’s performance is going to suffer.

In order to disable these invasive bits of advice, click the Start button. Under your Settings, access System and from there, Notifications & actions. Under the Notifications section, you will find the option to Get tips, tricks, and suggestions as you use Windows.” Deactivate this option, and you won’t have anything more to worry about.

Finally, the Cliché: Restart Your Device
Yes, this suggestion has become a joke in and of itself, as the IT field’s go-to question. However, there’s a really good reason for this: restarting a device can often solve its issues. This is because it clears out the use of the computer’s resources, wiping unneeded memory usage and stopping equally unneeded background processes. Restarting your workstation effectively gives it a fresh slate, allowing it to run much better than it did when it was bogged down.

Let us know if there are any other tips you want us to share in the comments, and don’t forget to subscribe!

The end of support for Windows 10 is scheduled for October 14, 2025. While that is a couple of years away, it's crucial to start strategizing for the future now. After this date, Microsoft will cease providing technical assistance, security updates, and bug fixes for the operating system. This means that continuing to use Windows 10 beyond that point could expose users to security risks and performance issues.

What Does “End of Support” Entail? 

Essentially, it makes using the operating system riskier and more challenging. It won't receive patches for the latest vulnerabilities, and compatibility issues with newer software and hardware won't be resolved. After the end of support date, the effectiveness of the operating system diminishes rapidly, becoming not only unsafe but also frustrating to use as modern solutions rely on more up-to-date software.

What Are Your Options?

Microsoft strongly recommends transitioning to Windows 11, a move we also endorse. Windows 11 offers numerous improvements over its predecessor, including a more user-friendly interface, enhanced performance, and robust security features. However, there's a caveat: not all devices can support Windows 11, so it's crucial to check compatibility before committing to an upgrade ahead of the end of support date.

What if Your Device Isn't Compatible with Windows 11? 

In the short term, you can continue using Windows 10 until the end of support date, provided you have the latest security updates and patches installed. Employing an enterprise-level antivirus tool can also bolster your security during this transitional period. However, we recommend not procrastinating too long when it comes to upgrading, as updates and patches can only provide limited protection in a landscape where new threats emerge daily.

If you would like a professional perspective on your organizational technology, give the IT experts at Coleman Technologies a call today at (604) 513-9428.

There are lots of options for changing your display settings. To access these settings, click on the Start menu and select the gear icon for Settings. The first option on the Settings screen is System, where the first option is Display, so you’ll have no problem checking it out. Here are some of the options:

Change Your Screen’s Brightness
With this option, you can change--get this--your screen’s brightness! This is critical if you want your device’s battery to stay under control. There is a slider that you can use to adjust the screen’s brightness. Underneath this, you’ll see another option to turn on the Night Light. This makes the device’s screen turn to warmer colors to make it easier on the eyes at night. You can even schedule the night light to turn on at a specific time.

Scale and Layout
Under this option, you can change the default size of text and applications, among other things. There are several dropdowns under this heading that give you dynamic control over several aspects of your display, including the display’s resolution and the screen orientation.

Multiple Displays
One of the best ways you can get the most out of your monitors is by using more of them. If you have multiple monitors connected to your device, your settings will give you options for what to do with them. You can connect to them wirelessly, detect connected devices, and so much more. Just click on the links in your settings to learn more about what you can do, or reach out to us to learn more about what the settings mean.

Before you change any settings for your devices, if you have any questions about what they mean or why, consult professionals at Coleman Technologies who know what they are doing. It’s better than making a change and not knowing how to change it back.

Overall, changing up your display can be great for both your device’s battery and your productivity. For more great tips and tricks about how you can get the most out of your monitors and displays, reach out to us at (604) 513-9428.

Windows 10

In Windows 10, Microsoft has built a complete and secure operating system. Users can do about anything they’d like inside of Windows 10. The platform was initially built to support three levels of devices, from smartphones to other mobile productivity machines, to your traditional productivity machines, your PCs. After Microsoft pulled the plug on their smartphone division, the subsequent changes they’ve made to the OS have been with the PC user in mind. 

Microsoft had a solid strategy to get their Windows 10 software on as many devices as possible: they gave it away. For a year they provided any user that had Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 8.1 the ability to upgrade for free. Since then, it has been available as other versions of Windows have been, for digital download.

Windows-as-a-Service

Since the software giant has retired support for the hugely-popular Windows 7, and Windows 8.1 was kind of a flop, Windows 10 becomes the development priority for Microsoft. They seem to be extremely invested in the OS, hinting that it might very well be the last Windows title ever developed. Microsoft has made many huge changes to Windows 10 over the past five years and looks to continue to develop the software more as a service than a product. 

Like many other software, Windows--or, Windows-as-a-Service, if you will--will continue to be one of the leading names in computing. It just won’t be replacing Windows 10 the way Windows 10 replaced Windows 8.1. In fact, Microsoft is now offering Azure-hosted Windows 10/Office 365 platforms for one monthly fee. In doing so it is changing the way that people access, and pay for their computing. 

If you would like to know more about Windows 10, Microsoft 365 platforms, or any other way that business computing is innovating, call the IT professionals at Coleman Technologies today at (604) 513-9428. 

As with any applications on your device, you’ll have a variety of first and third-party applications that can be set as your default apps. Here are the steps to make this happen:

• Click the Windows icon at the bottom left-hand side of the taskbar.
• Click on the gear icon to open up your Settings.
• Select Apps.
• In the left-hand column, click on Default Apps.
• In the right-hand side of the Default Apps screen, you can see the various types of files that will be opened by specific apps.

Changing your default video playback settings is also easy to do. From the Video playback option in the Apps section, you can enable streaming content at high dynamic range quality, process video for more enhanced quality, play back video in either a high or low resolution based on preference, and change how video is played based on battery life. You can pick from prioritizing video quality or battery life--whichever you prefer.

Before making any changes to your computer, we recommend speaking with the technology professionals at Coleman Technologies. This prevents you from making any changes to hardware or software settings that could cause frustrations for you and your staff. To learn more about the services we provide, reach out to us at (604) 513-9428.

What is Breadcrumb Navigation?
As per the aforementioned fairy tale, breadcrumb navigation consists of a path leading home. In this case, home is the homepage. With breadcrumb navigation, you can more easily keep track of how you got to the current web page you’re on, as well as the path back to the home page. This path can typically be viewed at the top of the page. Each step includes a link that navigates back to a specific page.

Let’s say that you’re looking at a service page on a website. If the path you took leads back to the home page, you’ll see all of the pages in between in the breadcrumbs menu. For the sake of this example, let’s say the pages in between are the second menu item and the fifth menu item. It would look something like this:

Home > [Menu 2] > [Menu Item 5]

Since these breadcrumbs are links, you can click on any one of them to be brought back to that page. This lets you continue browsing with minimal chance of getting lost on the site trying to backtrack.

More Than Just Websites
You might notice that this navigation style is similar to the ones used in toolbars in file folders or files saved on your desktop. The reason is the same--it makes finding certain files easier at a later date. The location can also be shared with others who need to know where it is.

Breadcrumbs are typically meant for helping users with browsing and organization. Are there any other features out there you can think of that do the same thing? Let us know in the comments.

What is Microsoft 365?

Microsoft 365 is a bundle containing Office 365, the Enterprise version of Windows 10, along with Microsoft’s Enterprise Mobility + Security. Microsoft 365 is comprised of all of these solutions, meaning your business will benefit from all of the features that come with these solutions, with just one package. So, what does this package include exactly?

Here are all of these solutions you could or should be taking advantage of with Microsoft 365:

• Windows Enterprise OS
• Installed versions of Microsoft Office applications 
  • Word
  • PowerPoint
  • Excel
  • OneNote
  • Access
    • Mobile versions of these applications
    • Office for the web
  • Outlook
  • Exchange
  • Teams
  • SharePoint
  • Yammer
  • OneDrive for Business
  • Sway for Office 365
  • Stream
• Task management tools
  • To-Do
  • Planner
  • PowerApps and Flow
• Device and Application Management
  • Microsoft 365 Admin Center
  • Intune
  • Windows Autopilot and Device Health Analytics
  • System Center Configuration Manager
• Identity and Access Management
  • Azure Active Directory Premium 1 and 2
  • Windows Hello
  • Direct Access
  • Credential Guard
• Threat Protection
  • Microsoft Advanced Threat Analytics
  • Windows Defender Antivirus and Device Guard
  • Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection
  • Office 365 Advanced Threat Protection
  • Azure Advanced Threat Protection
• Information Protection
  • Office 365 data loss prevention
  • Windows Information Protection and BitLocker
  • Azure Information Protection 1 and 2
  • Cloud App Security
• Security Management
  • Microsoft Secure Score
  • Microsoft Security and Compliance Center
• Advanced Compliance
  • Advanced eDiscovery
  • Customer Lockbox
  • Advanced Data Governance
  • Service Encryption with Customer Key
  • Privileged Access Management
• Advanced Analytics
  • MyAnalytics
  • Power BI Pro

Here at Coleman Technologies we understand this list is extensive. However, it is worth viewing as there could be solutions your business could benefit from. Coleman Technologies has the technicians needed to help you procure, implement, and manage the right solutions for you. Reach out to us at (604) 513-9428 to learn more.

By many, we mean about a quarter of them.

With the deadline just a week and a half away, we wanted to reiterate what a solution reaching end of support means, how it would impact you, and what your options are.

The first thing to address is what “end of support” actually means. It doesn’t mean you won’t have the ability to use whatever software it is (in this case, the Windows 7 operating system) after the end of support date. What it means is that Microsoft is no longer doing anything to it - including improving its security and patching issues. As a result, the software will lose its functionality over time. Worse, the computer running the software becomes vulnerable, which makes the entire network vulnerable - not a good thing.

To be fair, there are some ways that you can protect your network while still using these devices. For instance, if you rely on a particular line-of-business application that requires Windows 7, you could theoretically isolate a Windows 7 device to allow you to do so. However, to be completely fair, there isn’t any guarantee that you will be protected from vulnerabilities, short of completely taking problematic systems entirely offline.

Therefore, it only makes sense to explore your other options.

Your Other Options

With the deadline as close as it is, you will need to hustle to put any of these alternatives into action:

Upgrade to Windows 10

Objectively speaking, Windows 10 is better than Windows 7, if only for its improved security. Furthermore, it isn’t one of those solutions that requires insanely higher specifications to run. In fact, the minimum numbers you need to operate Windows 10 are as follows:

• Processor - 1 GHZ or faster
• RAM - 1 GB for 32-bit or 2 GB for 64-bit
• Hard disk space - 16 GB for 32-bit or 20 GB for 64-bit
• Graphics card - DirectX 9 or later with WDDM 1.0 driver
• Display - 800 x 600 resolution

Mind you, this is all it takes to run Windows 10, not to run Windows 10 well. To improve your performance, we suggest that you make a few alterations - upgrading to a 2 GHz dual-core processor, increasing your RAM to between 4-and-8 GB, and Increasing your hard drive space to 160 GZB, at least.

Purchase New Hardware

While it will cost you a pretty penny, obtaining new hardware (that comes with Windows 10 installed) may be the easiest option, especially when you take your looming deadline into account. Windows 10 and regular updates to it are all included, but it may take some time to configure everything properly.

Virtualize with a Thin Client

In a similar vein as leveraging Chromebooks instead of Windows, you could use your old hardware as a thin client to virtualize your needed solutions. However, despite the reputation that virtualization has as a solid option for businesses, it may not be a practicable option with the deadline pressing so close.

Alternatively, you could simplify this process using one of Microsoft’s services. Microsoft 365 offers a combination of Windows 10, Office 365, One Drive with an included terabyte of storage, and fully featured security. Available at a predictable monthly flat-rate per user, it gives you a solid alternative for at least your productivity-software-using employees.

Regardless, you need to take action now. Reach out to Coleman Technologies today for help. We’ll figure out which approach is best for you and help you with your upgrade process. Call us at (604) 513-9428 to learn more.