Kurt Shintaku's Blog

Communications and Media Global Outlook 2014-2017 provides insight into the Microsoft and partner technologies that are being developed for communications and media companies to drive positive change and address new trends.

Topics around mobile, cloud and the Internet of Things are covered in the technology roadmap and regional perspective sections of the guide.

A comprehensive directory section also provides business information about some of the innovative technology suppliers in the industry, helping you to make positive technology decisions for your own company.

Here’s a glimpse at the contents:

• Page 14: Technology Roadmap: “Devices & Studios”
• Page 18-: Regional Perspectives, “The continuing rise of digital”
• Page 20: North America
• Page 22: Europe, Middle East, Africa
• Page 24: Asia-Pacific
• Page 26: Latin America
• Page 77: ESPN
  ”Sports media group ESPN joins the Windows 8 platform with the help of NV Interactive”

Get it here:

• Digital Edition: Communcations and Media Global Outlook 2014-2017
  http://digital.onwindows.com/
  communications-and-media/global-outlook/

UPDATE 2/11/15 10:30AM
Oh, it’s here alright.  My phone is downloading it as I type!  Key posts about the update:

• Microsoft: “Lumia Denim now rolling out to Lumia Icon in the U.S.”
  http://lumiaconversations.microsoft.com/2015/02/
  11/lumia-denim-now-rolling-lumia-icon-u-s/
• Neowin: “It’s official: Denim update is now rolling out to Verizon’s Lumia Icon”
  http://www.neowin.net/news/it039s-official-denim-update-is-now-rolling-out-to-verizon039s-lumia-icon
• Updated Lumia Software Recovery Tool with Demin included:
  http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/mobile/support/faq/?action=singleTopic&topic=FA142987

ORIGINAL POST 2/11/15 9:00AM
WOW.  If you’re a Verizon Nokia Icon user and been paying attention to the recent social chatter, the Windows Phone 8.1.1 + “Denim” firmware update was semi-announced/leaked as of last night.

Per Daniel Rubino of Windows Central:

HOLY… Lumia Icon + Denim update is ALMOST here. Verizon announced it. Likely due tomorrow. windowscentral.com/verizon-publis… pic.twitter.com/lV2KN0JnvL

Since I have the Windows Phone 8.1 Developer Preview installed, I’ve personally been getting ready to reset my phone and back it down to the old Windows Phone 8.0 to get the upgrade.

Lo and behold, today, Joe Belfiore tweeted:

“Hey #Icon users… thanks for being patient!  Denim is arriving today, but sit tight. You WON’T need to reset & use recovery tool to get it.”

Mind blown.  I did not expect to have a seamless upgrade from the WP8.1 Dev Preview to the production version from Verizon. 

Everything is awesome.  Can’t wait to upgrade to this… so many features that will be unlocked with this release, like Miracast wireless display “casting”.

We’ve launched a new quarterly magazine titled OnWindows, covering the latest news, views and insights from Microsoft, our partners, and customers.

OnWindows provides commentary on industry solutions and in-depth customer interviews across the Communications & Media, Financial Services, Manufacturing & Resources, Retail, and Public sectors.

The digital edition is available now to read online or download. 

This month’s issue is 132 pages long and 83.9MB in size.  Highlights include:

1. Business in the cloud: How the cloud computing revolution is transforming business as we know it
2. Hybrid: the next wave in cloud
3. Supporting the cloud (having a backup plan)
4. Michael Dell speaks: Dell’s top priorities
5. IDC on the Internet of Things

Click below to read more:

• VIEW: “OnWindows – The best of enterprise technology on the Microsoft Windows platform – Issue 1: Winter 2014”
  http://digital.onwindows.com/onwindows/2014/winter/
• DOWNLOAD: “OnWindows – The best of enterprise technology on the Microsoft Windows platform – Issue 1: Winter 2014”
  http://digital.onwindows.com/onwindows/2014/
  winter/files/assets/common/downloads/publication.pdf

With the release of “Enterprise Cloud Suite” per user licensing, customers can now get Office 365 E3, Enterprise Mobility Suite, and Windows SA Per User licensing for every user in their organization at an attractive price.

Now, this “Windows SA Per User” licensing is a big deal:  Microsoft has never licensed Windows this way before.  It gives the licensed user the right to use Windows on any device, be it desktop, laptop, tablet, or virtual machine.

INCREASED FLEXIBILITY FOR VDI SCENARIOS
Importantly, Windows SA Per User licensing also gives VDI users more flexibility.  Historically, if a corporate device is licensed for Windows on Software Assurance (per device), the primary user may access VDI instances of Windows ONLY from that specific licensed Windows PC/device – not from any other corporate device.

With Windows SA Per User licensing, the licensed user is licensed to access VDI instances of Windows from any corporate device – as well as any home device.

MORE ON WINDOWS SA PER USER
If you’re interested in understanding the scenarios in which this can be a more economical & flexible means of running Windows in your organization, grab this datasheet.

• DATASHEET: License access to Windows on a per user basis
  http://download.microsoft.com/download/5/c/7/5c727885-ec15-4920-818b-4d140ec6c38a/Windows_SA_per_User_at_a_Glance.pdf

There’s stuff like this all over the place in Redmond if you look close enough.  This one is just a little obvious.  Our corporate HQ is sorta like a giant ‘Where’s Waldo’ of geekiness that interestingly no one talks much about… most cuz everyone’s too busy doing geeky work stuff.

UPDATE 3/9/15: DON’T FORGET THE AZURE CREDIT
I forgot to mention a really epic benefit of MSDN Platforms subscription.  Once you’ve got access to all this software… where are you going to install and test it?

Turns out that that the “MSDN Platforms” subscription also provides the subscriber with a whopping $100/month credit to use Microsoft Azure.  This allows you to not only stand up server VMs in Microsoft’s cloud, you can also install any server product you require on them through your MSDN Platforms sub.

Read the following for more information:
http://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/member-offers/msdn-benefits-details/
ORIGINAL POST 2/19/15:
As a tech, I realize that for many like myself, TechNet was an invaluable resource for having the flexibility to use in a lab – including for the purposes of security testing.  The alternative, MSDN subscriptions, has often been too expensive for the traditional Technet subscriber, in that the subscription editions that included “comparable” evaluation/testing software were simply too expensive.  (http://www.visualstudio.com/
products/how-to-buy-vs)   For example:  The lowest edition with Operating Systems, Server products, etc. is Visual Studio Premium, priced at a $6,100 MSRP.

ENTER “MSDN PLATFORMS”
One solution may be a “MSDN Platforms subscription”. (http://www.visualstudio.com/products/msdn-platforms-vs) We released a subscription a little more than a year ago, called MSDN Platforms – exclusively for Volume License customers –  that you may wish to look at as it contains most of the operating systems & server products that were in TechNet, including:

• Windows
• SQL Server
• Dynamics
• Exchange
• SharePoint
• Other server products:
  • Lync Server
  • System Center &
    Windows Embedded Device Mgr
  • Windows Server
  • Multipoint Server
  • Project Server
  • BizTalk Server
  • Forefront products (incl Identity Mgr)
  • …and more.

It does not however contain Office, nor does it include Visual Studio development tools itself. (http://www.visualstudio.com/en-us/products/msdn-subscriptions-vs)

Generally, I believe it costs roughly ~$1000/year which puts it in the ballpark of the higher end TechNet Plus subscriptions which was ~$700/year.  You will notice in the snapshot below however that as I mentioned before, we do not allow general consumers to purchase the MSDN Platforms subscription:  It is purchasable only by Volume Licensing customers, and thus requires a volume licensing agreement & a volume license reseller to enroll an organization.

(Taken from http://www.visualstudio.com/en-us/products/msdn-subscriptions-vs )

For more information on this option, read the following links:

• MSDN Platforms product page
  http://www.visualstudio.com/products/msdn-platforms-vs
• Visual Studio and MSDN Licensing White Paper
  http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=13350

(Note: Volume licensing is only for individuals that commit to purchasing Microsoft-licensed products in quantity. For more information on how volume licensing works, click here.  Click here to see what volume licensing program your organization may qualify for.  Click here to find a volume license reseller.)

As a follow up to the launch of Outlook for iOS and Android, the team and we wanted to give everyone a deeper look into Outlook from an IT point of view. We know people are interested in hearing more about the app’s architecture, security, and administrative controls, so I’ve provided more detail in the document link below.

Note: To download the document below or review the YamJam “transciption”, you will need to be a member of the Office IT Pro network on Yammer.  Read about how to join the network here: https://kurtsh.com/2014/07/08/news-join-the-office-365-technical-network-free/

• DOCUMENT: “Outlook for iOS and Android: Info for IT Pros”
  https://www.yammer.com/api/v1/uploaded_files/
  30231012/download

As it states, there was also a YamJam (a mass text-based social discussion on the Yammer social service) that took place on February 4, 2015 in the Exchange IT Pro Yammer group.  If you’re interested in reviewing the threads of the YamJam about Outlook for iOS, please see the following URLs:

• Main YamJam page (Table of Contents):
  https://www.yammer.com/itpronetwork/#/Threads/show?threadId=494447371
• #OutlookFeatures discussion:
  https://www.yammer.com/itpronetwork/#/Threads/show?threadId=494444279
• #OutlookSecurity discussion:
  https://www.yammer.com/itpronetwork/#/Threads/show?threadId=494445097
• #OutlookControls discussion:
  https://www.yammer.com/itpronetwork/#/Threads/show?threadId=494445349

Happy dance!

The visionary designer behind Adobe just joined Microsoft to lead the design of our most important products, including Office 365.

This couldn’t have been cheap.  This is the kind of of hire we get when we target expertise for R&D, but now it’s product centric.  I like the commitment to great design.  Read about it after the jump.

• PR NEWSWIRE: Microsoft hires Michael Gough as corporate vice president of design, Applications and Services Group
  http://www.marketwatch.com/story/microsoft-hires-michael-gough-as-corporate-vice-president-of-design-applications-and-services-group-2015-02-02
• FAST COMPANY DESIGN: http://www.fastcodesign.com/3041855/design-moves/one-of-adobes-most-visionary-leaders-heads-to-microsoft

Well, that was sudden. 

Julia White just announced SharePoint Server 2016 and it’s focus is on several key areas:

• “Hybrid configurations” between Office 365 SharePoint Online and SharePoint Server on-premise
• “Experiences” including advances in:
• Search
• Portals
• Files
• Team Sites
• Business Intelligence
• Social
• “Management”
• “Extensibility”

Julia on where to get more information:

“You can expect to hear a lot more from us come May 4-8, 2015 at Microsoft Ignite in Chicago, IL. We’ll have the best and brightest minds in one place to share all things SharePoint and Office 365. Have a look at the SharePoint and related sessions list with more to come, and know that we’ll soon release our list of hands-on-labs, all breakout speakers and pre-day trainings. Excited to see you there.”

For more, check out the post at:

• OFFICE BLOG: Evolution of SharePoint
  http://blogs.office.com/2015/02/02/evolution-sharepoint/

Most parents have discovered the wonderful, creative effect that Minecraft has on their children, and found that it just as importantly provides an opportunity to play with their children in a safe & collaborative way that other technologies simply don’t provide.  And most kids that discover Minecraft immerse themselves fully in its world and apply their creative juices to its toolset.

It’s generally agreed upon by both educators & child psychologists that this sort of creative playground & parent/child collaborative endeavor is very positive.

But what effect does it have on kids?  What skills do they acquire & what lessons do they learn? 

It turns out there’s a lot that’s been published from research studies that point to the benefit of Minecraft for kids:

• MODERN PARENT: “Hey, Parents. What Minecraft Is Doing to Your Kids Is Kind of Surprising.”
  http://2machines.com/183040/ 
• THE ATLANTIC: Beyond ‘Screen Time:’ What Minecraft Teaches Kids
  http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/
  2014/04/beyond-screen-time-what-a-good-game-like-minecraft-teaches-kids/361261/
• KOTAKU: Study Recommends Kids Play Minecraft Over Watching TV
  http://www.kotaku.com.au/2014/04/study-recommends-kids-play-minecraft-over-watching-tv/
• NPR: Why Playing Minecraft Might Be More Healthful For Kids Than TV
  http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2014/03/28/295692162/why-playing-minecraft-might-be-healthier-for-kids-than-tv
• SCHOLASTIC: Using Minecraft as a Learning Tool
  http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/top-teaching/2014/04/using-minecraft-learning-tool
• ACADEMIC: Minecraft As A Teaching Tool – A Statistical Study of Teachers’ Experience Using Minecraft In The Classroom
  http://www.academia.edu/2624927/
  Minecraft_As_A_Teaching_Tool_-_A_Statistical_Study_of_Teachers_
  Experience_Using_Minecraft_In_The_Classroom
• KLARITI: Why Minecraft Makes Your Kids Smarter
  http://www.klariti.com/productivity/parents-minecraft-kids-smarter/
• BBC: Why Minecraft is more than just another video game
  http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-23572742