Standardizing the Digital World

1. Standardizing the Digital World Produced by Project Microsoft

2. Problem • You’ve probably run into this problem before: you want to connect to a projector using a VGA cable, but you only have an HDMI port on your laptop. Or perhaps you tried to view a file on one computer that didn’t work on another • We’ll try to help the world solve this problem

3. Video digital cables • VGA, DVI, HDMI, and Display Port are the most common types of cables and connectors used to connect monitors, televisions, and projectors. • VGA is the oldest standard, but is the most widely used. However, it will be phased out between 2013 and 2015. • HDMI is the newest type of standard, which most people tend to favor. • DVI and Display Port are two other common video formats.

4. Standard • Although it will be impossible to do this, HDMI is the preferred standard in the modern world. However, keep a spare VGA cable-it will come in handy! • If your computer or monitor doesn’t support HDMI or VGA, try using a convertor. You can buy these at a hardware store or online.

5. Computer Brands • While there are several computer brands out there, the standard PC manufacturer usually tends to be DELL. • DELL is Microsoft’s partner company in hardware manufacturing, so they’re probably the most reliable and trustworthy one. DELL is a private company and has been around for a while, and so their products are usually on top of everything.

6. Operating Systems • Operating systems are an easy one. • Microsoft Windows is the standard operating system in the modern world. If you don’t have Windows on your computer, it might not be able to run Windows. Consider getting a new computer. • If you don’t like Windows 8, you can still buy Windows 7 from Windows vendors like DELL.

7. Office Suite • Another easy one! • A lot of free office suites, like Open Office and Libre Office, as well as online services like Google Drive have now entered the office suite campaign. • Microsoft Office still remains the primary “official” office-suite, being the most advanced. If you can’t afford it, use One Drive, the free, online version of Office. • To be standards compliant, get Office 2010 or 2013.

8. Client and Company Email • Microsoft Outlook is the standard in terms of company email. Outlook 2010 or 2013 are preferred.

9. Internet Browsing • In terms of internet browsing, Internet Explorer is the “official” internet browser. All of the other browsers are alternative browsers, which means they were not originally installed on Windows. • In terms of searching, while Internet Explorer wants you to use Bing, Google has evolved to become a default search engine in the modern world. However, Bing is acceptable too.

10. Personal Email • There really aren’t a lot of conflicts in personal web mail, although email and file sharing services linked to it can be a hassle. • The new Outlook.com service is the standard, due to the decreasing amount of G-Mail (Google Mail) users. Outlook is the fastest growing email service in the world.

11. Networking • Ethernet cables are the standard in computer networking. • If you can’t connect to an Ethernet working, wireless fidelity, Wi-Fi for short, is the best alternative. However, Wi-Fi is less secure than Ethernet, and much slower.

12. Questions? • If you have further questions regarding compatibility for certain types of cables or software, contact us at www.inventivenetwork.weebly.com using the Contact Page.