Kurt Shintaku's Blog

We’re done… and we’re shipping.

• WINDOWS BLOG: Windows 8.1 Now Available
  http://blogs.windows.com/
  windows/b/bloggingwindows/
  archive/2013/10/17/windows-8-1-now-available.aspx

If it hasn’t shown up in the Windows Store as a free upgrade, try typing in:

ms-windows-store:WindowsUpgrade

… into your browser.

This has been one of the most satisfying releases of Windows I’ve experienced since Windows 7 – and I mean that.  All shilling aside, I’m downright giddy using my 8.1 upgraded devices in a way that I just didn’t get with regular Windows 8.  If you’re a business user using Windows 7, you really ought to try Windows 8.1.  If you’re using Windows 8, you’d have to be a nutjob not to upgrade to 8.1. 

Everything about it feels good.  The performance improvements.  The configurability.  The fit & finish added.  The 8.1 apps & tools changes.  The unparalleled multi-monitor support.  The new support for standards like Miracast.  If you’re looking for a quick list of what makes Windows 8.1 awesome, check this article out on Mashable:
(Photo taken from Mashable’s “10 Reasons…” article below)

• MASHABLE: 10 Reasons You Should Upgrade to Windows 8.1 Now
  http://mashable.com/2013/10/17/windows-8-1-best-features/

And here’s what the blogosphere has had to say about it so far:

• MASHABLE: Windows 8.1 Available Now (Author: Pete Pachal)
  http://mashable.com/2013/10/17/windows-8-1-available/
• THE VERGE: Windows 8.1 review: It’s take two for Microsoft’s ambitious operating system (Author: Tom Warren)
  http://www.theverge.com/2013/10/17/4845142/windows-8-1-review
• ZDNET: Windows 8.1 is here: Can it win over skeptical PC buyers? (Author: Ed Bott)
  http://www.zdnet.com/windows-8-1-is-here-can-it-win-over-skeptical-pc-buyers-7000022068/
• GIZMODO: Windows 8.1 Review – Little Changes Make a Big Difference (Author: Eric Limer)
  http://gizmodo.com/windows-8-1-review-little-changes-make-a-big-differenc-1446625571
• PC MAG: Microsoft Releases Windows 8.1, Brings Back Start Button (Author: Damon Poeter)
  http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2425875,00.asp

Yeah, it looks I missed this.  We actually did release the Mac OS X version of the HLW/iTap-Mobile technology for Remote Desktop.

With the Microsoft Remote Desktop app, you can connect to a remote PC and your work resources from almost anywhere. Experience the power of Windows with RemoteFX in a Remote Desktop client designed to help you get your work done wherever you are.

Features

• Access to remote resources through the Remote Desktop Gateway
• Secure connection to your data and applications with breakthrough Network Layer Authentication (NLA) technology
• Simple management of all remote connections from the connection center
• High quality video and sound streaming with improved compression and bandwidth usage
• Easy connection to multiple monitors or projectors for presentations
• Print from Windows applications to any printer configured on your Mac
• Access local files on your Mac from your Windows applications

Download the tool from Apple’s App Store for Macs:

• DOWNLOAD: Remote Desktop for MacOS X w/ HLW/iTap-Mobile Technology (v8.0.0, 24.0MB)
  https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/microsoft-remote-desktop/id715768417

UPDATE 10/21/13:
Looks like I totally missed this but apparently we DID in fact publish the new Remote Desktop client for MacOS X, based on the iTap-Mobile technology we acquired from HLW.  (Thanks Nathan for the heads up!)

• DOWNLOAD: Remote Desktop for MacOS X
  https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/microsoft-remote-desktop/id715768417

———————
ORIGINAL POST:
Well, we’re still waiting for the Remote Desktop for Mac OS X technology that we acquired from HLW/iTap Mobile however in the meantime, here are the links to the FREE Remote Desktop clients for iOS & Android.

For those of you that have never had any experience with RDP clients, not all clients are created equally.  The reason this acquisition is important, among other reasons, is that the iTap Mobile suite of RDP clients that provided Remote Desktop capabilities for non-Windows platforms were very well supported and from my experience, the defacto standard for Enterprise customers that want RDP clients for non-Windows platforms. 

The HLW/iTap-Mobile technology we acquired distinguishes itself in particular by supporting both Network Location Awareness & TS Gateway, some important Enterprise features (for BYOD folks that roamed from place to place) that the previously Microsoft-in-house-developed Remote Desktop for Mac 2.11 did not support.

One thing to keep in mind is that these apps are not identical to the HLW/iTap-Mobile published clients.  They are reportedly based on the same technology but not bit-level identical.  I strongly suspect that this is because any IP that we acquire has to go through a very rigorous inspection which includes a Trustworthy Computing review (checking for vulnerable code) and an examination of the source to ensure that there aren’t libraries in use that conflict with Microsoft policy.

Just trust me.  This is an important set of tools for companies using Remote Desktop Services on Windows Server 2008/2008R2/2012/2012R2.

• DOWNLOAD: Remote Desktop for iOS
  https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/microsoft-remote-desktop/id714464092
• DOWNLOAD: Remote Desktop for Android
  https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.microsoft.rdc.android

Well, we’re still waiting for the Remote Desktop for Mac OS X technology that we acquired from HLW/iTap Mobile however in the meantime, here are the links to the FREE Remote Desktop clients for iOS & Android.

For those of you that have never had any experience with RDP clients, not all clients are created equally.  The reason this acquisition is important, among other reasons, is that the iTap Mobile suite of RDP clients that provided Remote Desktop capabilities for non-Windows platforms were very well supported and from my experience, the defacto standard for Enterprise customers that want RDP clients for non-Windows platforms. 

The HLW/iTap-Mobile technology we acquired distinguishes itself in particular by supporting both Network Location Awareness & TS Gateway, some important Enterprise features (for BYOD folks that roamed from place to place) that the previously Microsoft-in-house-developed Remote Desktop for Mac 2.11 did not support.

One thing to keep in mind is that these apps are not identical to the HLW/iTap-Mobile published clients.  They are reportedly based on the same technology but not bit-level identical.  I strongly suspect that this is because any IP that we acquire has to go through a very rigorous inspection which includes a Trustworthy Computing review (checking for vulnerable code) and an examination of the source to ensure that there aren’t libraries in use that conflict with Microsoft policy.

Just trust me.  This is an important set of tools for companies using Remote Desktop Services on Windows Server 2008/2008R2/2012/2012R2.

• DOWNLOAD: Remote Desktop for iOS
  https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/microsoft-remote-desktop/id714464092
• DOWNLOAD: Remote Desktop for Android
  https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.microsoft.rdc.android

We are excited to announce the official release of Message Analyzer to the Microsoft Download Center. This really is a new beginning for troubleshooting and analysis. Message Analyzer brings a set of new ideas, new techniques, and new paradigms in order to make analysis of protocols, log files, and system events a cohesive activity which allows correlation across all those types of traces.

Microsoft Message Analyzer is a new tool for capturing, displaying, and analyzing protocol messaging traffic and other system messages. Message Analyzer also enables you to import, aggregate, and analyze data from log and trace files. It is the successor to Microsoft Network Monitor 3.4 and a key component in the Protocol Engineering Framework (PEF) that was created by Microsoft for the improvement of protocol design, development, documentation, testing, and support. With Message Analyzer, you can choose to capture data live or load archived message collections from multiple data sources simultaneously.

Message Analyzer enables you to display trace, log, and other message data in numerous data viewer formats, including a default tree grid view and other selectable graphical views that employ grids, charts, and timeline visualizer components which provide high-level data summaries and other statistics. It also enables you to configure your own custom data viewers. In addition, Message Analyzer is not only an effective tool for troubleshooting network issues, but for testing and verifying protocol implementations as well.

Please also visit Message Analyzer Team Blog for continued updates and helpful information.

• DOWNLOAD: Microsoft Message Analyzer 1.0 (33.9MB)
  http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=40308

In case you missed it, we published a blocker toolkit for IE11’s automatic upgrade on Windows 7 Service Pack 1 for business folk that aren’t already managing Windows Updates via WSUS or SCCM.

Business and organizations that want to manage their own update schedule can use the IE11 Automatic Update Blocker Toolkit to disable automatic delivery of Internet Explorer 11. This Blocker Toolkit—like its predecessors for IE10, IE9, IE8, and IE7—is now available on the Microsoft Download Center. While we encourage all customers to upgrade their browser to the latest version as quickly as possible, this approach enables organizations to control when they are ready to deploy IE11 to their Windows 7 users. All other Windows 7 users not using the toolkit will be automatically upgraded to IE11 through Windows Update.

The IE11 Automatic Update Blocker Toolkit can be used to prevent Internet Explorer 11 from being automatically installed on users’ Windows 7 machines when it is available via Automatic Update. This Toolkit has no expiration date and is configured either by running the registry file on the client machine or by deploying Group Policy in domain joined environments. The toolkit also provides an unblock procedure that allows IE11 to be installed through Automatic Update.

…

Read more here:

• IE11 Automatic Update Blocker Toolkit Available for Windows 7
  http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ie/archive/2013/10/11/ie11-automatic-update-blocker-toolkit-available-for-windows-7.aspx

Download the IE11 Automatic Update Blocker Toolkit here:

• Toolkit to Disable Automatic Delivery of Internet Explorer 11
  http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=40722

Review the “Internet Explorer 11 Deployment Guide for IT Pros” here:

• What is the Internet Explorer 11 Blocker Toolkit?
  http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn338147.aspx

If you start to get “mobile views” of web sites that you’re used to going to, after upgrading to Windows 8.1, simply turn on Compatibility View for that particular site (or for all web sites) and you’ll find that life returns to normal.

Here’s some steps to follow to enable Compatibility View on the site that is showing it’s “Mobile” version/view:

1. Navigate to the website that isn’t displaying properly.
2. In Internet Explorer (desktop), tap and hold on the bar at the top (or right click).
3. Tap on "Menu bar" so it’s highlighted and there is a tick by it. A menu with File, Edit, View, Favourites, Tools and Help should appear.
4. Go to tools and open "Compatibility View Settings". "Add this website" should have the domain of the site you’ve visited already filled, so click "Add".
   Alternatively, you can also simply check the “Display all websites in Compatibility View to have this done for all sites you visit.
5. Close the windows then revisit the website that wasn’t displaying properly.  (While a refresh should work, you may need to close the tab entirely)  It should hopefully now display as it should.

Come celebrate our first DUAL launch of the latest Assassin’s Creed IV & Battlefield 4 Midnight Launch next week on October 28th at 10pm.

Compete for fun and bragging rights. We will also hold a tournament in our theater area as usual along with prizes for the winners of the tournament.  We will also have free play sections for those who just want to enjoy the launch. 

Enjoy food, drinks and prizes. First 50 people to arrive will receive a special giveaway.

LOCATION:

Microsoft Store Los Angeles
(Westfield Century City)
10250 Santa Monica Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90067
Phone: (310) 228-3550

Finished! 

I’m excited to announce that the final releases of Visual Studio 2013, .NET 4.5.1, and Team Foundation Server 2013 are now available for download!  MSDN subscribers can download from the MSDN Subscriber Downloads page.

Visual Studio 2013 is the best tool for developers and teams to build and deliver modern, connected applications on all of Microsoft’s platforms.  From Windows Azure and SQL Server to Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8, Visual Studio 2013 supports the breadth of Microsoft’s developer platforms.

As part of the Cloud OS vision, Visual Studio 2013 enables developers to build modern business applications that take advantage of the cloud and target a variety of devices and end-user experiences, all delivered within today’s rapid and dynamic application lifecycles.

…

Read more here:

• BLOG: Visual Studio 2013 available for download
  http://blogs.msdn.com/b/somasegar/archive/2013/10/17/visual-studio-2013-available-for-download.aspx

Download the new VS 2013 & read “What’s New in Visual Studio 2013” here:

• LINK: Microsoft Visual Studio 2013
  http://www.microsoft.com/visualstudio/eng/visual-studio-2013

Sign up for the Visual Studio 2013 Virtual Launch on November 13th here:

• EVENT: Visual Studio 2013 Virtual Launch
  http://events.visualstudio.com/

If you are an Office 365 subscriber using Visio Services then you will be pleased to hear that we have made an update to Visio Services, changing the way we handle hyperlinks and navigation for a better user experience and especially an optimized touch experience.

Read more about the new touch support here:

• BLOG: Touch support for Visio Services in Office 365
  http://blogs.msdn.com/b/chhopkin/archive/2013/10/12/touch-support-for-visio-services-in-office-365.aspx

Read more about Visio Services here:

• BLOG: Sharing Diagrams with Visio Services in Office 365
  http://blogs.office.com/b/visio/archive/2012/09/18/sharing-diagrams-with-visio-services.aspx
• TECHNET: Overview of Visio Services in SharePoint Server 2013
  http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee663485.aspx