Set Office365 Password Expiration (Business Accounts) - 2013 Edition

Since Microsoft has started upgrading accounts under the Office 365 umbrella the Admin Center has changed a lot and might be a bit confusing for some simple operations. I will take you through the steps below to change your users password expiration policy.

The main dashbard for O365

1. Log into the Admin Portal HERE

2. On the left find Service Settings

3. Now on the top navigation bar, find Passwords

4. Edit the password expiration age, and notification options and click Save.


I know this is a simple operation, but I hope this helps.

For reference, the policy settings used to be under Users and Groups.

Working in Windows 8 Preview for a Day

On friday I gave Windows 8 Preview a shot after setting up a dual boot environment on my laptop. I attempted to only use W8 and Office 2013 for the day without running back to Windows 7 to do necessary work. Unfortunately it flopped and I ended up making it through only 3/4 of the day. I will go over what made the test fail as well as my impressions of the OS as it is today.

Part 1 "Excuse me while i reboot" -

Trying to work in an SMB environment has its challenges for an OS built for home use, and in short it doesn't work. I am not quite sure what Microsoft has up its sleeve with W8 RP but unlike Office 2013 where SMB and Pro versions were available Windows 8 is a Home Premium install only. It makes it very tough then to test this OS with my programs, domain setup, administration tools and more without having to spend money on an OS that might not work. I struggled throughout the day using remote desktop to our servers to do simple administration tasks that I could have done natively, as well as logging into network shares and other machines using network file sharing. These issues were tough but did not cause me to reboot quite yet. I finally ran into a driver issue (I won't blame the OS for this fault however) and could not complete the task at hand with some software. Rebooting into Windows 7 solved this and I felt no desire to run through what is a lengthy reboot process for Windows 8 dual boot environments. In fact I have not quite sure why the bootup process has changed, yes I still get the choice to setup a 10 second choice screen for the OS I would like, but if I decide on Windows 7 the computer has to shut down, go through POST procedures again and then boot into Windows 7 adding another 20-30 seconds delay. A bit strange I do say.

Part 2 "Excuse me Sir, I seem to be lost" -

Windows 8 can be summed up in one word after Fridays immersing test, "confusing". I became quite frustrated trying to find simple programs or tasks using the Metro start screen, depending on which screen it would show up on. This problem baffled me, using a dual monitor setup I could get the desktop showing on both screens, and a task bar mirrored on each as well. This was great as I could bring up windows without having to run to the other monitor. This was not great as it felt like, depending on the operating systems mood when I would hit the Windows key the Metro Start screen would randomly pop up on one of the monitors. I think I saw the Start screen change positions over 5 times and could not for the life of me figure out why it chose the monitor it did. Then there is the all programs menu and lack of need for the Metro Start screen all together. Trying to find all the programs installed on the machine if the icon was not present in the Metro screen had you treck all the way to the corer of the screen before listing everything side by side instead of traditional list form like in previous Windows versions. I found this change more time consuming especially when Start changed monitors. Windows 7 search through the start menu which I have come to use for everything now needed me to use another function key set (Windows Key + F) to bring it up whereas before I could just hit the Windows Key and start typing, or click on the start menu in the corner. My last bone to pick on this post is the horrible App Switching interface. Trying to find the window you just had open was a flipping nightmare, I would have an App open on the left monitor then want to go back to the desktop I had before. Clicking on the desktop on the right would not bring it up, and trying to find Desktop in the Metro screen was a pain as well. This is where App Switching would be nice and efficient, but it isn't. To bring up the App Switching interface you have to go to the Start "hot" corner, then slide your mouse up the side of the screen...but dont move it out of the window that appears or it will disappear again leaving you to start from scratch. And for some dumb reason Microsoft felt the need to make your current window list start from the top, as far as virtually possible from the Start button. Because why make it close and easy and a second quicker to use?

Office 2013 First Thoughts

I have not used Office 2013 as much as I had hope by midweek, but seeing as I decided to reinstall windows and dual boot I am hoping it will have a better impact on fully immersing myself in Windows 8. In the mean time however I did get the chance to show the new Office to some co-workers and we have a short list of our first takes on the system.

1. Windows 8 integration is not as great as it should be - Live tiles, launching to the desktop, and no notifications on the lock screen just irk me the wrong way. If you can give us that Microsoft then its just Office 2013 running on Windows 7 (which is how I would rather have it)

2. WHITE! - Every office product is wrapped in a blinding white sheet of snow, or ice, or maybe a snow cone with no flavoring. I have not found any way to change the default color scheme rending my eyes blinded after a few minutes of use.

3. Missing shortcut keys - Ok so the touch things are pretty nifty I must admit, but it would be nice to be able to do some document interaction from a keyboard too. Seeing as how most companies do not hand out touch screens I would think it would be a little important to add (especially with most not moving to Windows 8)

Honestly the only big change I have noticed is in Outlook, and the movement of the task/calendar bar on the right to roll-over menus down below. Without that it really just looks like a 2010 facelift more than a complete rehab of Office.

Office 15 - Out in the "Wild"

The Microsoft Office 15 Preview was released to the public today to the collective cringe of System Administrators everywhere. Spouting a new look, tweaks to all interfaces and launching along a social storm with access to yet another completely redesigned SharePoint, this could be one of the most confusing office releases yet (based on my experience today with the preview on Windows 8). I will be testing the software piece by piece over the next week and will give my best neutral review of the software and services.