Microsoft

OneNote for Mac finally does it right (updated!)

/ johannstander / Leave a comment

This is just my opinion and it seems some users on MS community is not on the same page, but overall OneNote has definitely been moving in the right direction 🙂

I have been a long time users of OneNote and it is an amazing tool which does not get all the recognition it deserves.  Since I switched over to Mac a year ago I have been struggling with Office for Mac, especially OneNote, but Microsoft has been putting a lot of focus on this product and even listened to us on their community sites with suggestions and bug fixes. This is great to see and just reinforces my choice that this is the right tool for me.

You can also join the office insider program which allows you to get insider slow or fast builds but as many users recently discovered, OneNote freezing during the sync process, this can cause problem and is done at your own risk.

 

So back to the good stuff, Microsoft recently introduce the new vertical menu bar on the left side of the screen which replaced the top horizontal menu, which in my opinion was not good since you had to scroll a lot!   The new menu is very similar to what you get in OneNote for Windows, but after reading some community forums it has not received all the love since it takes up quiet a bit of screen real estate which is not ideal but I am sure this will be addressed in the near future.

Below is a screenshot of the menu showing with all my workbooks.

Screen Shot 2017-01-05 at 6.17.21 PM.png

Below the menu shows with my workbooks hidden.  This happens when you click on a page.

Screen Shot 2017-03-03 at 9.23.22 AM.png

Another cool feature is the feedback button which sends information back to the team on things you like or don’t like and any suggestions you might have. Pretty cool.

Screen Shot 2017-02-10 at 9.03.04 AM.png

UPDATE 06.20.2017

OneNote for Mac release version 15.35.1 (170616) which now gives you the ability to customization your OneNote interface by hiding sections to only show pages as well as page previews.  Here is some information on how to customize OneNote. Pretty neat!

What is even more exciting is that MS is finally creating consistency across all the platforms for OneNote with the following new feature announcements here:

  • Enhancing usability for those who use assistive technologies.
  • Simplifying navigation controls.
  • Creating consistency across devices.

 

 

You can also provide feedback and suggestions here:

https://onenote.uservoice.com/forums/327165-onenote-for-mac

OneNote for Mac community:

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/forum/mso_mac?sort=lastreplydate&dir=desc&tab=Threads&threadType=All&tm=1431713187355&auth=1

 

 

Patch Tuesday no more…Microsoft servicing model changes

/ johannstander / Leave a comment

Coming October Microsoft will be changing the way it delivers patches to many of their OS’s and only time will tell how successful this will be but in my opinion this is an overdue change and a good thing.

I was a MS engineers in a my previous life and I know how tedious it can be to manage all the individual patches released with testing and verification, and this gets even more complicated when you have different OS’s.  Sometimes hated those Tuesdays 🙂

Microsoft will be releasing a monthly rollup which includes security and reliability issues. How does this impact you?

 

There is a great MS blog which explains this in detail which I have provided below:

 

links:

https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/windowsitpro/2016/08/15/further-simplifying-servicing-model-for-windows-7-and-windows-8-1/