Aussie suburbs that could eventually upgrade to NBN 1000 speed tier announced

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• More flexibility and working from home are workers' biggest priorities

  Remote work is likely here to stay as many employees don't want to return to the office full time.

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• Windows 10 update is messing with the taskbar – but there’s an easy fix

  There are some frustrating issues with taskbar icons becoming corrupted, or even vanishing entirely.

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• Apple thinks it has the tools to take your SMB to the next level

  After launching in beta last year, Apple has announced that Apple Business Essentials is now available to all small businesses in the US.

  The iPhone maker’s new service brings mobile device management, 24/7 Apple support and cloud storage from iCloud together into flexible subscription plans.

  Apple Business Essentials is designed to support SMBs throughout the entire device management life cycle from device setup to device upgrades while also providing strong security, prioritized support, data storage and cloud backup. It begins with simple employee onboarding which allows a small business to easily configure, deploy and manage the company’s products from anywhere.

  VP of enterprise and education marketing at Apple, Susan Prescott provided further insight on the company’s complete solution for SMBs in a press release, saying

  “Apple has a deep and decades-long commitment to helping small businesses thrive. From dedicated business teams in our stores to the App Store Small Business Program, our goal is to help each company grow, compete, and succeed. We look forward to bringing Apple Business Essentials to even more small businesses to simplify device management, storage, support, and repairs. Using this new service leads to invaluable time savings for customers — including those without dedicated IT staff — that they can invest back into their business.”

  Apple Business Essentials

  One of the most useful features in Apple Business Essentials is Collections which allows groups of apps to be delivered to employees or teams while settings such as VPN configurations, Wi-Fi passwords and more can be automatically pushed to devices.

  To get started, employees simply need to sign in to their work account on their iPhone, iPad or Mac using a Managed Apple ID. Once this is done, they will have access to everything they need to be productive including the new Apple Business Essentials app from where they can download their organization’s work apps.

  Managed Apple IDs for employees can be created by federating with Microsoft Azure, Azure Director and later this spring with Google Workspace identity services. This allows employees to log into their business laptops using a single business username and passwords.

  Read more

  > Apple could be working on a whole host of financial and banking tools
  
  > It looks like Apple is preparing a major upgrade for its datacenters
  
  > Apple will let businesses host secret apps on the App Store

  Apple Business Essentials also works with both company-provided and personal devices and with Apple’s User Enrollment feature, employees’ personal information stays private and cryptographically separated from work data.

  In addition to Apple Business Essentials, Apple has announced the launch of AppleCare+ for Business Essentials which provides organizations with 24/7 access to phone support and up to two device repairs per plan per year by individual, group or device. Employees can initiate repairs directly from the Apple Business Essentials app and an Apple-trained technician will come onsite in as little as four hours to get their devices back up and running.

  Apple Business Essentials with up to 2TB of iCloud cloud storage starts at $2.99 per month after a two-month free trial while plans for AppleCare+ for Apple Business Essentials start at $9.99 per month.

  • Stay on top of your work from anywhere with one of the best business smartphones

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• There’s one area Microsoft is beating Apple – with right to repair

  Microsoft has released an official video that shows how easy it is to open up its Surface Laptop SE and replace important components – and rivals such as Apple should sit up and take notice.

  For the past few years, device makers, especially Microsoft and Apple, have been criticized for making products that are extremely difficult – if not impossible – to be repaired by a user. While the companies often argue that this is because their products are carefully put together, and are now slimmer than ever, therefore requiring unique parts, critics say that this results in more waste and expense for the users.

  If your Surface Laptop or MacBook’s SSD fails, for example, it should be a relatively easy and cost-effective repair. However, these systems aren't designed for home repair. Instead, you'll need to either ship the laptop back to Microsoft or Apple for repair or replacement or take it to an approved repair shop.

  If you try to fix it yourself or go to a non-approved repair shop, you risk voiding the warranty, or even damaging the device further.

  This has led to some consumer backlash. In the US and Europe, there is increasing legislation forcing manufacturers to acknowledge the customer’s right to repair their own devices. It seems many manufacturers are taking this seriously, with Microsoft highlighting how easy its upcoming Surface Laptop SE will be to open up and replace parts using common tools.

  DIY repairs

  As Gizmondo reports, Microsoft still isn’t clear about whether or not these repairs will void your warranty – at the very least, the company isn’t taking responsibility if you break something while attempting this.

  Still, it’s a welcome change. Microsoft’s video shows the Surface Laptop SE being opened up and components such as the keyboard and the screen being accessed and removed. Should you need to replace or fix something, it could be a lot easier to do at home.

  Launching this repairability with the Surface Laptop SE makes sense. It’s a low-cost device aimed at children and educational institutions. These are settings where a laptop is going to get a lot of punishment. If a school provides a Surface Laptop SE to a student and the keyboard breaks, the school could swap out the keyboard rather than buy a new laptop.

  We’re still not sure if this repairability will come to Microsoft’s high-end devices, but we’d like to see any future Surface Laptops or Surface Pros offer this kind of repairability. To be fair to Microsoft, it already made certain aspects of its premium devices replaceable, such as the easily accessible SSD in the Surface Laptop 3 and Surface Pro X, but there’s still work to be done.

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  Analysis: Apple take note

  While this level of repairability should have been included in its products without pressure from consumer rights campaigners, and even governments, Microsoft’s move is still a welcome one. When you buy a device, especially an expensive one, you should have more choice about how to repair it if something goes wrong.

  With many companies also pledging to be more ecologically responsible, making devices that can be easily repaired and upgraded should also lead to less waste – as consumers won’t be throwing away devices when just one component has failed, for example.

  Along with Microsoft, Apple has been singled out for making devices that are almost impossible to repair or upgrade, which is at odds with the consumer-friendly and environmentally conscious image it portrays.

  For Apple’s part, it did announce the Apple Self Service Repair program last year, which will allow users to fix certain parts of their iPhone 13 or iPhone 12 using specialized tools. It’s for handsets only, and it’s not as flexible as Microsoft’s alternative, but it is a start.

  The new MacBook Pros have also been found to be slightly more fixable than previous models, with the battery no longer glued in, and with pull-tabs included to make its removal easier. The display is also said to be easier to replace.

  Still, Apple remains behind Microsoft when it comes to the fixability of its products – and Microsoft’s moves, while welcome, still need to go further, as well. Let’s hope both companies take the right to repair more seriously in 2022.

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