Is Your Business Ready for Windows 11?

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For the past few years, Microsoft led customers to believe that they would be building on Windows 10 for the foreseeable future. Of course, in tech, nothing ever stays static and they have now released Windows 11 for PC. For the business, it starts a clock that can get quite uncomfortable if not planned for. This week, we thought we’d take a look at the system specifications for Windows 11, and what you need to know for when you decide it’s time to upgrade. 

 

Before we get into the specifications, we’d just like to say that there is no rush to move your business’ workstation OSs to Windows 11; if, like many businesses, you’ve moved to Windows 10. For businesses still using Windows 8.1, however, it is definitely time to consider an across-the-board upgrade. Microsoft has announced they will be completely retiring that OS on January 23, 2023, so you have just under a year to make your move before you lose Microsoft’s comprehensive software support.  

Windows 11 Hardware Requirements 

The Windows 11 operating system requires a 1GHz multicore processor, which by today’s standards is a pretty low bar. As for memory, Windows 11 requires at least 4 GB of RAM, as well as 64 GB of onboard storage. The display requirements are higher as well, needing at least 720p to run. 

 

For more on the specific requirements, Microsoft has provided all the specifications here.   

 

For context, most modern PCs will have very little trouble running Windows 11. In fact, the only problem users may run into is that your processor doesn’t meet the TPM or Secure Boot requirements. You’ll want to download Microsoft’s PC Health Check app, and it will tell you if your PC is compatible, and if not, why. A workstation from 4 or 5 years ago might not be readily compatible. 

 

For the individual user or remote worker, even if your PC has no problems, we don’t recommend making the jump to Windows 11 without speaking to your IT administrator. They may have certain issues that demand that you are running a certain operating system. 

Let Us Help You Upgrade Your IT 

Support for Windows 10 isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, so there is no real rush, but there are some things that you need to prepare for if your organization is thinking about upgrading to Windows 11. The IT professionals at AE Technology Group are here to help your business upgrade any of your technology. Give us a call at (516) 536-5006 to learn more. 

How to Record Screenshots, Audio, and Video on Windows 10

Screenshot of cheerful confident Asian male CEO discussing statistics review with charts graphs.

If you have ever had to write up a report or process for a particular task, you know that images can go a long way toward helping people understand what exactly needs to be done. For Windows 10 users, there is a built-in tool that you can utilize to take screenshots, record video, and even record audio alongside all of this: the Xbox Game Bar.

Before we dive into the details about how to use this feature natively available on Windows 10 devices, we would like to point out that it is entirely possible that the Xbox Game Bar has been disabled or uninstalled completely from your work-related devices. Due to its nature, it is mostly used for gaming purposes, so your organization may have disabled it for this reason. If you need to use this solution for any reason, be sure to check with your IT department to determine whether or not it is the right tool for your current needs; don’t just go installing software on your workstation all willy-nilly!

That said, if it’s not disabled by default, why not use the tool to solve a current problem? It beats downloading an expensive screen recording software!

Start-Up the Xbox Game Bar

To start up the Xbox Game Bar, all you have to do is hold the Windows key and hit the G key. This will open up the overlay. The overlay has four main features, from left to right:

  • Take a Screenshot: The screenshot button does exactly what you think it does; it takes a screenshot of your screen. You can use the keyboard shortcut here for easy access: Windows key + Alt + Prt Sc.
  • Record the Last 30 Seconds: This feature can be used to record video if you’ve missed something retroactively. This is kind of a clunky one to use, though, as it does not always recognize the application you might be trying to record (remember, this solution is for video games normally). You can use the keyboard shortcut for this feature, too: Windows key + Alt + G.
  • Start Recording: This button will start recording your screen. A separate window showing some basic controllers will pop up, including enabling or disabling audio input. You can use the keyboard shortcut to start recording: Windows key + Alt + R.
  • Turn Mic On/Off While Recording: When you hit the Audio option from the overlay, you will see the window that details which devices, including your microphone and playback device (usually your speakers or a headset), are being used when recording. You can adjust the audio mix at this time. To quickly disable or enable audio recording, you can use the keyboard shortcut: Windows key + Alt + M.

There are a couple of shortcomings of this application, though, namely that it cannot record File Explorer, and it cannot record more than one application at a time.

Some Practical Uses for This Feature

Now that we’ve put the idea in your brain, let’s go ahead and outline how this feature might be used. Here are some common ways that you might use the Xbox Game Bar:

  • Recording a video tutorial
  • Writing up documentation for a task
  • Identifying a problem to be addressed later on

All of that said, if you want a solution that is meant for more than gaming, we recommend reaching out to AE Technology Group for help. We can equip your business with enterprise-grade tools that might be a better fit for getting your work done. To learn more, reach out to us at (516) 536-5006.