If you want to get someone on Windows Phone 8 device with no commitment whatsoever & you live near a Microsoft Store, here’s how to get a Nokia Lumia 521 for only $105 without signing a carrier contract.

1. Go to your local Microsoft Store.  You’ll see that the price of the phone initially is $149.
2. Ask the store to price match Walmart at $129.88 for the Nokia Lumia 521
3. Take the Bing It On Challenge at the store.  This will garner you at $25 gift card.
4. Congratulations.  You’ve reduced your cost for the device to $104.88.

Even if you don’t use it as a phone, this unit is like a low cost media player with WiFi/Bluetooth & a speaker.  Check out the details:

• 124.5 grams
• 1Ghz Dual Core Qualcomm SnapDragon 82270 processor
• 4.0 TFT IPS LCD display w/ 480×800, 235 ppi
• 4G T-Mobile Quad-band UMTS/HSPA+
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n (2.4 GHz)
• Bluetooth, Power Class 2, A2DP
• 8GB native storage
  • Expandable memory (64GB SDXC microSD support)
    Note: The specs say 32GB however Dorion Whitlock of the Microsoft Store in Century City confirmed that 64GB SDXC cards indeed work.  See photo to the right.
• 512 MB RAM
• 5.0MP autofocus camera w/ 720pHD/30fps video
• 9 hrs talk, 360 hrs standby
  • Replaceable 1430mAh LiIon battery

Here’s the full specs for this phone:
http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/phones/nokia-lumia-521?model=rm-917
http://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-5751

——————————

DETAIL:

Q: Are you seeing "SIM card is missing or invalid" error on your HTC 8X Windows Phone?

I’m seeing this on the phone I got from Verizon but it doesn’t look like it’s specific to any one carrier. It appears that there may be a design issue in this phone. I’ve been struggling with this for a while now and originally thought it was a firmware or software issue but after discussing this with others and researching this on the Internet, it appears that it has to do with the phone’s hardware itself.

PROBLEM: ‘SIM CARD FAILURE’

At seemingly random intervals, usually as frequent as every day or every other day, the phone pops up an error notification that reads, “SIM card is missing or invalid”. At this point, the phone won’t connect over data nor will voice calls work. The only recourse is to completely reboot the phone – either via “Power+VolumeDown” to reboot or “Hold-Power” to shut down.

POSSIBLE CAUSE: DISCONNECTION
The hypothesis is that the SIM is getting disconnected briefly. The power button is right above the area where the SIM is inserted. If you ever pull out the SIM, it will cause and error and you’ll either shut down the device or halt all communications. Because the casing is a pliable (however rigid) polycarbonate plastic, over time, when you press on the power button, it bulges the plastic just enough to occasionally separate the SIM from the internal metal contacts that connect it to the radio on the phone. The result is the phone will either randomly turn off its radio (no calls, data, or texts) giving you that “SIM card is missing error”… or the phone will randomly shutdown altogether without letting you know, usually in your pocket. 

This seems to be particularly common with individuals that have gel cases or other types of protective cases on their device that require the user to exert a lot of pressure on the power button to click it.  This stress looks to be the cause of this issue.

SOLUTION: TAPE ON THE SIM
What one thoughtful person did on the Internet is place a thin piece of tape on the back of the SIM. The has the effect of making the connection between the SIM and the contacts in the phone more firm & tight. I did exactly this with a small piece of scotch tape and haven’t had the problem happen since!

REFERENCES:

• https://community.verizonwireless.com/thread/793465
• http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/winphone/forum/wp8-wpnetwork/htc-8x-sim-card-is-missing-or-invalid/16962008-df41-4959-a6ea-f03b00d5d118?page=~pagenum~
• http://forums.wpcentral.com/htc-8x/206093-invalid-sim-error-8x.html
• https://community.verizonwireless.com/thread/789044

We know a lot of you have been waiting for this, and so it is with great excitement that we announce that Exchange Server 2013 RTM Cumulative Update 1 (CU1) has been released to the web and is available for immediate download! This is the first release using the new servicing model for Exchange Server 2013. In addition to this article, the Exchange 2013 RTM CU1 release notes are also available.

Note: Article links that may not have been available at the time of this post’s publishing are now available. Updated Exchange 2013 documentation, including Release Notes, is now available on TechNet.

CU1 is the minimum version of Exchange 2013 required for on-premises coexistence with supported legacy Exchange Server versions. The final build number for CU1 is 15.0.620.29. For more information on coexistence, check out the Planning and Deployment documentation, and this Ignite webcast covering deployment of and coexistence with Exchange Server 2013.

…

Read more here:
http://blogs.technet.com/b/exchange/archive/2013/04/02/released-exchange-server-2013-rtm-cumulative-update-1.aspx

• DOWNLOAD: Exchange 2013 RTM Cumulative Update 1
  http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=38176
• VIEW: Release Notes for Exchange 2013 RTM Cumulative Update 1
  http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj150489(v=exchg.150).aspx

We’re excited to announce that today, Visual Studio 2012 Update 2 (VS2012.2) is now available for download.

For an overview of the five areas of investments in VS2012.2 that we made across agile planning, quality enablement, Windows Store development, line-of-business development, and the general developer experience, please visit Soma’s blog. In particular, you can find an outline of the new functionality and issues we’ve fixed in Visual Studio 2012 Update 2 and comprehensive details on the respective blogs below:

• Brian Harry’s Blog
• ALM Team Blog
  • Focuses on Modern Application Lifecycle and Modern App Development
• LightSwitch Team Blog
• Blend Insider
  • Improvements for the XAML developer
• ScottGu’s Blog
  • Update to ASP.NET and Web Tools 2012.2

If you encounter a bug or an issue, please report it through the Visual Studio, LightSwitch, and Blend Connect sites. As always, we want to hear your suggestions or feature ideas/improvements so please tell us on UserVoice or vote on other user’s suggestions.

The recordings posted for all 8 sessions:

Steven Guggenheimer, Corporate Vice President and Chief Evangelist – Developer Platform & Evangelism.

Windows 8 brings a new opportunity! Create immersive app experiences, reach more people on more devices, and make more money on your terms. With 60M Windows 8 and Windows RT licenses sold in the first three months, this is an opportunity you certainly want to capitalize on!

• App Builder Virtual Summit recordings: http://build.windowsstore.com/virtualsummit/videos

Bill Gates 2.0
May 12, 2013 4:00 PM
For Bill Gates, technology is still the solution. He shows Charlie Rose some inventions he’s working on to help heal the world.
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50146679n

LAW TECHNOLOGY NEWS: "Microsoft’s Surface Pro Tablet Is a Winner"

Integration with the Office suite and easy security tools gives Microsoft the edge over Apple in the tablet wars

“…Being able to run familiar desktop programs on a tablet-sized device gives users the option of replacing two devices, the tablet and the laptop, with one. This is a convenience worth considering, and law firms that value mobility should investigate whether the Surface Pro meets their needs.”

http://www.law.com/jsp/lawtechnologynews/PubArticleLTN.jsp?id=1202597722666&thepage=1&slreturn=20130409131135

Rough summary of Surface Pro:

• Stylish. Sleek, angular, and attractive.
• Speed & Power. Faster than most anything on the market for CPU & networking… capable of running mega-applications like Adobe Lightroom.
• Enterprise Manageable. Joins domains, respects IT policies.
• Enterprise Connected. Accesses network drives, printers, & apps. Works with Lync. Seamlessly connects to Windows Live ID, Skydrive.
• Enterprise Secure. Adheres to IT security policies, encrypted storage, leverages existing Enterprise security software.
• Workplace Friendly. Immediately connects to desktop peripherals: Displays, mice, keyboards, speakers, hard drives, & wired gigabit networking over USB 3.0.
• Compatible. Provides 100% of the functionality & application support of Windows 7 – including HTML5 & Flash support in Internet Explorer 10 & VPN clients.
• Touch-Enabled. ‘Metro’ apps like Internet Explorer 10 work exactly as advertised… it’s an efficient & quick-to-use interface for touch screens.
• Full Keyboard. Touch cover keyboard is highly portable & very usable as a traditional desktop keyboard.
• Multitasking. Productively changing work contexts between tasks is as easy as a desktop PC.
• Productive. 1080p/multiple external display support provides extremely large screen real estate for multitasking along with full mouse/keyboard.

(And even with all this praise, he doesn’t address the Durability of Surface Pro’s VaporMg casing, the availability of Pen Computing through it’s Wacom digitizer & stylus, or the capability to add Extensible Storage via micro SD flash – all of which I believe are also important.)

Read it here:

• CIO Road Test: Microsoft Surface Pro Beats Apple iPad
  "Surface Pro changed my mind about the validity of Windows 8. I had been trying to use the OS on the wrong device…"
  “As for me, it’s not like I’m driving a "me too" device, but a new modality in mobile computing. In my opinion this is not a passing fad, but a platform to strongly consider moving to on your next refresh.”
  http://www.crn.com/news/mobility/240154469/cio-road-test-microsoft-surface-pro-beats-apple-ipad.htm

Only a few capacity-related technologies have sent me reeling like this.

• I remember when they started shipping the 256kb memory chips back in the mid-80’s and it just boggled my mind after dealing with 16kb-64kb for years.
• Then I bought a 14.4kbps modem and I did a happy dance every day for weeks after years of BBSing with 110bps-2400bps. 
• When they installed DSL at my home after years of dual channel ISDN, I just shook my head & proceeded to spend the next 24 hours downloading the Internet.
• I received a 64GB SD Flash card & that made my jaw drop.  I still own 256MB SD cards for gosh sake.

So 25GB of corporate Exchange email?  Will full server-side rules, offline sync, all my plugins, Exchange Activesync… this is THAT level of “OMG”.

So how big’s your corporate mailbox?

And… Windows Blue is coming!  During the Wired 2013 Business Conference, Julie Larson-Green disclosed Windows Blue Public Preview will be available at Build 2013 (June 26-28).

Content about the conference from Microsoft:

• Watch Julie’s Wired conference video here:
  http://fora.tv/conference/wired_business_conference_2013_think_bigger
• Check out the Windows blog with Tami Reller Q&A:  
  http://blogs.windows.com/windows/b/bloggingwindows/

Here are a few articles that resulted from the conference:

• Microsoft confirms Windows 8.1 ‘Blue’ will be available to developers at the end of June – Tom Warren, 05-07-2013, The Verge
• Microsoft reveals Windows Blue will be released to developers in June, distributed via Windows Store – Alex Wilhelm, 05-07-2013, The Next Web
• Microsoft confirms public preview of Windows Blue in late June – Mary Jo Foley, 05-07-2013, ZDNet

A few of the tweets on the topic:

• The Verge‏ Microsoft confirms Windows 8.1 ‘Blue’ will be available to developers at the end of June http://vrge.co/YDl5Th
• Joseph Cristina‏: Gadget: Microsoft’s Julie Larson-Green Says Windows RT’s Slow Start Is A Consumer Education Problem http://tcrn.ch/15BeRGn #tech
• Callan Green‏: Julie Larson-Green is demonstarting her skills at classily answering tough questions… #wiredbizcon
• Tim Anderson‏: There’s aren’t "major changes" in Windows 8 Blue says Julie Larson-Green, some reporting "wildly inaccurate" 
• Julianne Pepitone/CNNMoney – “We believe in people’s ability to learn and change. We knew there would be a learning curve with Windows 8.” – Larson-Green #wiredbiz