Kurt Shintaku's Blog

Microsoft completed the acquisition of LinkedIn, and in doing so acquired the training company, LinkedIn Learning, aka “Lynda.com”.

We are in the process of making available much of the Microsoft-related training online for general usage as well as for Software Assurance benefits subscribers of Microsoft eLearning.

20+ FREE LINKEDIN TRAINING COURSES FOR OFFICE 2016
In January, we announced that 20+ new online courses on Outlook, Word, Excel & PowerPoint were added to the Office Training Center from LinkedIn Learning.  Additionally, there are specific courses for users of Mac, iPhone & iPad.  Each course consists of 6-12 streaming videos to view.

• Outlook, Word LinkedIn Training: https://blogs.office.com/2016/09/22/new-office-training-courses-from-linkedin-learning/
• Excel, PowerPoint LinkedIn Training: https://blogs.office.com/2017/01/12/more-linkedin-learning-office-training-courses-now-available/

Interested in asking questions about Outlook Customer Manager?

Join us for the Outlook Customer Manager AMA on Tuesday, May 9th from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. PT!

• Date/Time:
  Tuesday, May 9, 2017
  9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. PT
• Add to Calendar:
  https://myeventurl.azurewebsites.net/events/Details/206
• AMA Location:
  https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/Outlook-Customer-Manager-AMA/bd-p/OutlookCustomerManagerAMA

Read the original announcement here:

• ANNOUNCEMENT: Outlook Customer Manager AMA – May 9th
  https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/Outlook-Customer-Manager-AMA/Announcing-Outlook-Customer-Manager-AMA-on-May-9th/m-p/64444#M1

Interesting. First, Microsoft offers the Samsung Galaxy S8 – Microsoft Edition in its retail stores… then it announces the Harman Kardon “Invoke” Intelligent Speaker in partnership with parent company Samsung Electronics.

“INTELLIGENT SPEAKER”
This voice-activated “intelligent speaker” delivers 360-degree Harman Kardon sound & acts as a personal digital assistant though the use of Microsoft’s Cortana.  Among other things it can:

• Play music you want by interpreting your verbal instruction
• Manage your calendar & activities
• Set reminders verbally and remind you from the speaker, on your phone, from your computer, etc.
• Check traffic & alert you to delays and the time you should leave for your next appointment
• Provide the latest news & notify you of breaking news of your choosing
• Control smart home devices including turning on/off the lights or controlling the temperature

BROAD CLIENT SUPPORT
The Invoke is set up using the Cortana app, and can be managed on Windows 10 PC/Mobile, Android, or iPhone.

SKYPE INTEGRATION
An interesting feature however, is it’s unique integration with Skype.  It an make phone calls.  With its ability to orchestrate communications, combined with the ability manage smart devices, this should be an interesting combination.

AVAILABILITY:
Coming Fall 2017
http://www.harmankardon.com/invoke

For more information about the Harman Kardon “Invoke”, read the following announcement posts:

• BLOG: Harman Kardon Invoke featuring Cortana: Captivating sound meets personal digital assistant
  https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2017/05/08/harman-kardon-invoke-featuring-cortana-captivating-sound-meets-personal-digital-assistant/#2iOPJoPCvgB3yVfRS.97
• PRESS: HARMAN Reveals the Harman Kardon Invoke™ Intelligent Speaker with Cortana from Microsoft
  http://m.news.harman.com/releases/harman-reveals-the-harman-kardon-invokeTM-intelligent-speaker-with-cortana-from-microsoft

Office 365 is a powerful productivity platform that gives your users the freedom to work from anywhere, using any device. With Microsoft Enterprise Mobility + Security (EMS), you can extend and build onto your Office 365 capabilities to securely deliver your Office mobile apps as well as your broader portfolio of cloud-based or cloud-aware applications.

EMS helps execute on your end-user management strategy by delivering three fundamental capabilities

• Secure, streamlined access to all corporate resources
• Managed mobility that empowers users to do more on their devices, while safeguarding organizational assets
• Advanced security that constantly listens & learns from the ever-changing threat landscape so you can anticipate, detect, & respond to threats as they emerge

Download the free ebook to learn how EMS helps to deliver these fundamental capabilities.

• DOWNLOAD: “Extend your Office 365 capabilities with Enterprise Mobility + Security” (1.1MB, .PDF)
  https://info.microsoft.com/Extend-Office-365-security-with-EMS.html

Join us at DEVIntersection to hear from the experts that built ASPdotNET, Azure & Visual Studio, including the following from Microsoft:

• Scott Guthrie – Exec VP, Cloud & Enterprise
• Steve Guggenheimer – Corp VP, Developer Experience
• Scott Hanselman – Principal Program Manager
• Donovan Brown – Principal Cloud Developer Advocate
• Jeffrey Snover – Technical Fellow, father of PowerShell

Note: This is not an official Microsoft event, but rather one that is focused, for the most part, on Microsoft technology, and driven by an independent 3rd party that Microsoft provides support to.

In other words, there are no complimentary passes available nor can Premier hours be consumed to pay for registrations, as is the case with Microsoft Ignite.

• Register now:
  https://www.devintersection.com/

This morning, the Volume Licensing Service Center posted the downloadable .ISO images for Windows 10 Enterprise, version 1703, aka the “Creators Update”/Build 13063.

Taken from the download description:

Windows 10 Enterprise builds on Windows 10 Professional adding premium features designed to address the needs of large and mid-size organizations, such as advanced protection against modern security threats, full flexibility of OS deployment, updating and support options; as well as comprehensive device and app management, and control capabilities.
There are three downloads available for this Edition:

• Windows 10 Enterprise, version 1511 (updated Apr ’16)
• Windows 10 Enterprise, version 1607 (updated Nov ’16)
• Windows 10 Enterprise, version 1703 (updated Mar ’17)

Windows 10 Enterprise, version 1703 (updated Mar ’17) is the latest version of Windows 10 Enterprise. It includes all updates released for Windows 10 Enterprise since version 1607 (updated Nov ’16), including security and non-security updates.

A GENTLE REMINDER: ENTERPRISE EDITION DOWNLOADS ARE UNDER “SOFTWARE ASSURANCE”
Remember that if you’re looking for the Enterprise Edition, the download is listed under “Software Assurance” and not “Windows”.

The Windows 10 Enterprise English 64-bit .ISO download is 4051MB in size.  If you have access to the Volume Licensing Service Center for Software Downloads, you can download it now:

• SITE: Volume Licensing Service Center – Software Downloads
  https://www.microsoft.com/Licensing/servicecenter/Downloads/

[Taken from the SOF Tech Community]

Call Analytics is the newest member in our portfolio for Skype for Business Online products, that help you manage voice quality in your deployment.

In this blog, we discuss what it is, and how it can help you.   Call Analytics & Call Quality Dashboard Call Analytics, is our visual deep-dive tool to …

Read more here:

• BLOG: Introducing Call Analytics
  https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/Skype-Operations-Framework-Skype/Introducing-Call-Analytics/ba-p/57309

The topic of “transitioning” to Microsoft Edge has come up at a number of my customers, particularly because of the emergence of technologies like “Application Guard” that empower Edge to uniquely protect Windows 10 Enterprise users out of the box by running Edge in a virtualized space, protecting the user’s workstation from any malware or threats that emerge while browsing an unknown site.

The question, however, is, how does one plan a transition from Internet Explorer to Microsoft Edge in the Enterprise?

Pieter Wigleven wrote a blog post that goes through the steps in a pretty concise form.  Check it out:

Microsoft Edge is faster, safer & gives you longer battery life. This makes it the best choice on Windows 10 but after talking to hundreds of enterprises, it’s not uncommon to learn that specific webpages (e.g. requiring ActiveX) do not function well under Edge. This leads many organizations to configure Internet Explorer as the default browser on Windows 10.

Lets get things straight: There is no technical compatibility reason why you shouldn’t use Edge as the default browser on Windows 10, starting with version 1511 (also known as the Anniversary Update).

So, what’s the best approach?

…

Read more here:

• BLOG : The Ultimate Browser Strategy on Windows 10
  https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/home_is_where_i_lay_my_head/2017/04/25/the-ultimate-browser-strategy-on-windows-10/

<taken from the Windows IT Pro blog>

Want to learn how to put Windows 10 security technologies to work in your environment? Check out a new, free online training course from Microsoft Virtual Academy, hosted by Microsoft Cyber Security Architect Erdal Ozkaya and independent expert Raymond Comvalius.

Find out how the security landscape has evolved, then learn how to protect your infrastructure at the device level using Windows 10 technologies, such as:

• UEFI and Secure Boot
• Windows Defender Antivirus, Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection, and Device Guard
• Windows Hello and Credential Guard
• Windows Information Protection and Conditional Access

The course is divided into six sections, each varying in length. Add it to your playlist and complete the training at your own pace. Transcripts are also available.

Enroll in the training course below:

• TRAINING: MVA Windows 10 Security in Real Life
  https://mva.microsoft.com/en-US/training-courses/windows-10-security-in-real-life-17127

If you missed the webcast, “Windows 10 Creators Update for IT professionals”, here’s a published summary of all the resources mentioned on the webcast: 

• Resources for “What’s new in the Windows 10 Creators Update for IT experts – April 27, 2017, 10-00 AM”:
  http://aka.ms/w10-1703-resources

This is what was posted as of 4/27/17:

This page offers a summary of the resources discussed in the April 27th webcast on “What’s new in the Windows 10 Creators Update for IT professionals.”

• New update options for Windows 10, version 1703
• How to disable Windows Creators Update notice for users
• Windows on Microsoft Mechanics (YouTube channel)
• Windows Insider Program for Business
• What’s new in Windows 10, version 1703 IT pro content
• Windows 10 v1507 End of Servicing for CB and CBB
• Windows 10 version 1507 will no longer receive security updates
• Windows 10 CB and CBB Product Names Updated
• Windows 10 release information
• Finding Windows 10 Language Packs
• Windows 10 Assessment and Deployment Kit (Windows ADK) for Windows 10
• MBR2GPT tool
• Convert from BIOS to UEFI with MBR2GPT
• Moving from BIOS to UEFI with MDT 8443
• MMAT