Evaluation Of SharePoint System And Windows Supporting Advice Sites

Part I

In this module, you are to try out and evaluate the new SharePoint system recently made available to Trident students. At this point, you may or may not have actually tried to access and use it – if you haven't, it's high time that you did. Go to Trident's e-mail login URL and enter your User ID. If you haven't received the instructions for logging in and use yet, please contact the Support Group at Trident right away to obtain them.

If you've tried it, you'll recognize this as the opening screen:

As the project assignment for this module, you are to:

•Log into your SharePoint account. Review the purpose of the various tools that you see; in particular, mail and the set of Office tools: Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. By now, you undoubtedly have some familiarity with each of them, probably as stand-alone applications. Try out the online versions and compare them to the standalone experience.

•There's another application available here that you probably haven't encountered before: OneNote. Look around a bit and get some instructions for it, and try it out for a bit. Give some thought as to how this app might be of use to you in your future work with the University.

•Try sending and receiving some email with this system. How does it compare with other email systems you're familiar with. Try messaging your professor for this course. What do you think of the results?

•When you've had a chance to experiment with all these functions at least to some degree, please prepare a brief 2-3 page summary evaluation of what you see as the strengths, limitations, and value of SharePoint relative to other forms of work augmentation tools.

•Please include your overall assessment of the value of using “cloud-based” work tools, relative to computer-based applications such as Word and email and/or telephone and/or face-to-face interaction.

The last point in the report format above is very important. Be honest and direct; your assessment is helpful to you and to others. If you don't find it helpful, say so and why, and try to explain what you would find more useful in its place. But also do try to remember also that your education isn't yet finished, that things you don't understand now and don't yet see the value of may turn out later on to be relevant and useful, and that the site's creators may know more about this than you do yet.

Purpose of various tools present on the SharePoint:

The dominance of Microsoft in general and of Windows as an operating system has led to the emergence of an interesting "cottage industry" based on finding problems with Windows and recommending solutions to them. Some of these problem solvers do fairly straightforward consulting, on a fee for service basis. There are also a goodly number of instances of a rather different business model, a model based on sharing tips and secrets about the systems and applications that are widely used. These sites are generally supported not by direct charges to users, but by serving as portals for advertising, for-pay services, and the like. Some are membership-based, usually free. Collectively, these sites add up to an enormous body of practice wisdom about computer systems. The problem is that they don't always add up, and it is not clear just what is being said at times.

For the Case for this Module, you are to research how some of these Windows-supporting advice sites work. A few to start with would include:

•PC Pitstop

•chami.com-tips

•Kelly’s Korner

•MajorGeeks.com

•AnswersThatWork.com

•Annoyances.org

Purpose of various tools present on the SharePoint:

Email

To send of receive mails, within or outside the institute network.

Office 365

Office 365 has been provided online to us. The features of MS Office, like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote etc. can be accessed from here. The data saved is on cloud. But it can also be downloaded on the system. The data is saved in real time, hence there is no chance of data loss due to system failure etc.

MS Word: It is a word processor, developed my Microsoft. The online version has features and functionalities almost same as the offline version. The major difference arises in the speed, as it depends on the speed on the internet, and well as server. The online version lack some features, like adding add-ons. The document made can be saved on the cloud as well as it can be downloaded in the desire format on the system to be accessed offline.

MS Excel: It is a spreadsheet application, developed my Microsoft. It can also be used for database management. The online version has features and functionalities almost same as the offline version. The major difference arises in the speed, as it depends on the speed on the internet, and well as server. The online version lack some features, like adding add-ons. The document made can be saved on the cloud as well as it can be downloaded in the desire format on the system to be accessed offline.MS PowerPoint: It is an application to develop presentations. It has also been developed by Microsoft. The online version allows us to develop a presentation almost in the similar way to that of offline version. The speed depends on server as well as internet speed. The data can be exported for offline use to the computer, or can be saved in cloud.

Assessment

OneNote: OneNote is a new application, which is used as a freeform information gathering. It can be used to collaborate information from multiple users. It is a very handy application for students, as it can help in taking running notes, sharing notes etc. The notes can be typed, as well as there are features of gesture recognition to write the handwritten note, which are converted to text in printed form by OneNote. We hope to use OneNote in future in the University mainly for taking down notes in the class, for sharing them with fellow students and teachers, and while working on group projects.

The email provided here lacks many features as compared to other email systems that we use, like Google Mail, Yahoo Mail, Rediffmail etc. But, the basic requirements of sending and receiving emails are fulfilled. The auto forwards can be set, the signature can be set, the folders are customised etc. The features it lack are: auto filtering of mails and spams, the vacation responder, ability to add other emails and linking them to use from same account, chat client, etc.

The online tools and application are very useful, and efficient, probably much more as compared to their offline versions. They have the flexibly to be used and accessed from anywhere. Just an internet connection is required on a system, and we’re good to go. They do not require any software to be installed on the system, and hence save memory space on the system. The RAM requirements has not to be considered for running heavy software. Everything can be achieved by just a good internet connection. The data is also safe and secure. There is no risk of system failure, hard disk crash, or any type of physical damage, as data is stored on cloud. The cloud is generally situated at many locations, and hence, is a risk free operation. The data is also saved in real time on cloud while the work is in progress, and hence, the risk of power failure etc. are also eliminated.

Working on cloud also allows sharing of data easy. Hence, working on group projects where a collaboration needs to be done by more than one user becomes very easy. The cloud also is beneficial for the environment as it prevents paper use, and hence, trees. The interaction based on cloud is fast as compared to any other means of communication which is not based on internet. Email is delivered almost instantaneously at any location.

Part II

The only drawbacks of cloud based system are, requirement of high bandwidth, connectivity to internet at all times, and limitation on features. The features is expected to be added and improved over time. If internet connectivity is not present at a location, the data stored on cloud cannot be accessed, and hence, we become cripple. The high bandwidth requirement is due to high-end application that are used over cloud like Office 365 etc.

The problem faced by me in my Windows based system was, when I upgraded the system from Windows 7 to Windows 8, the device driver for Bluetooth stopped working. The driver provided earlier was not supported by the new OS, and hence, it didn’t allow the installation. This prevented the connection of my PC with any peripheral devices based on Bluetooth, like headset, speakers, phone etc.

I tried to install the various drivers provided with the PC in a CD. They didn’t work. I tried to download third part drivers by searching on Google, none of them worked. I tried to find out the model and make of by Bluetooth driver hardware, which I got to know to be BRODCOMM, and tried to download and install the driver from the manufacturer’s website but it didn’t work either.

I searched for the help online for the issue (my specific search term was: “Install Bluetooth driver in Windows 8, Dell”), and received following help from various sources:

Tomshardware.com:

They have marked the problem solved. They suggested to install some third party software for Bluetooth driver, and original driver is not available for Windows 8. It didn’t solve my problem.

They have suggested three ways. One was to install third party software. The other was to install driver from manufacturer’s website. I had already tried them both. The next solution as to get the Windows 7 driver, unzip it, and from the unzipped files, find the installation executable file (Broadcom.exe in this case), in the folder of version of Windows (that is, 32-bit or 64-bit), and install it manually from there. My tried that, and my problem was solved. Windows installed the driver in compatibility mode, and it was back working.

Before installing the driver manually from last step, I tried to confirm the process from other websites too which listed the problem to be solved. This website suggested the same process.

I tried to get advice from both Microsoft and Dell (as I am using Dell Inspiron 1464), for the issue, but both the forums suggested to grade down my Windows from Windows 8 to Windows 7, and drivers are not supported for Windows 8 for my laptop. The forums were of no practical help. They redirected me to the driver download page, which had no option to download driver for the OS I wanted.

From my experience, I can suggest that the online help is best that can be sought when a problem arises in a PC. The best way to get help is from forums other than the parent company forums, as they moderate non-conventional methods to solve the issue. The problems are generally solved by just twisting the things a bit, and can be easily made to work. Parent companies whereas try to stick to the convention, which leads nowhere. Thus, best way is to search web for online forum, and sought help from there.

Kelly’s Korner

The website has been shut down, as the webpage expired, and it was never renewed. This is mainly because not much systems use Windows XP anymore, which was the main focus of this website.

The website not mainly provides download for software and drivers, from the cloud.

The site has built its tune-up utility toolkit, which can scan the PC for faults and make it faster. It also has a forum to search for problems and sought help related to issues.

The side is under maintenance since a long period.PC Pitstop

This site also provide scan and tune-up solutions for free, and provides a forum for help. Free software are also made available here.

References

https://tomshardware.com

https://wiknikx.com

https://sevenforums.com

https://majorgeeks.com

https://pcpitstop.com