Kurt Shintaku's Blog

You read that right.  With the new “Student Advantage” program students can get Office 365 ProPlus at additional no cost.  This means full access to:

• Word 2013, Excel 2013, PowerPoint 2013, Outlook 2013, Lync 2013
• OneNote 2013, Publisher 2013, Access 2013

This ALSO includes the ability to install the software on up to 5 devices simultaneously… on Windows PCs or Macintoshes. (Although Macs do not have OneNote 2013, Publisher 2013, Access 2013 available to them since versions don’t exist)

In an effort to help prepare students for the technology skills required in the workforce, Microsoft on Tuesday announced Student Advantage, a new benefit to qualifying institutions that brings Microsoft Office 365 Education to more students worldwide. Microsoft Office 365 Education, an always-up-to-date cloud productivity service, is currently used by 110 million students, faculty and staff around the world. Office 365 Education enables students to communicate and collaborate more efficiently, access assignments in shared workspaces, have notes synchronized in OneNote and have familiar Office applications such as Word, PowerPoint and Excel anywhere, across virtually any device.

Beginning Dec. 1, 2013, any institution worldwide that licenses Office 365 ProPlus or Office Professional Plus for staff and faculty can provide access to Office 365 ProPlus for students at no additional cost. Today, more than 35,000 institutions are automatically eligible to deliver the Student Advantage benefit to their students. Office 365 ProPlus includes all the familiar and full Office applications — locally installed on up to five devices and available offline. When a school combines Student Advantage with Microsoft’s other cloud services, Exchange Online, SharePoint Online and Lync Online, all available free through Office 365 Education, students have access to the same set of gold-standard productivity tools and services used by Fortune 500 companies all over the world.

“Students use Office every day for school work and activities that are most important to them. Office not only helps students stay organized and get their work done today but at the same time develops skills that will be required when they enter the work force. In fact, no other software or services show up in the top 20 most important skills identified in the research report,” Salcito said. “We are thrilled to offer Student Advantage to schools across the globe so students have access to the latest, most up-to-date version of the world’s leading set of productivity tools in order to give them a competitive advantage when entering the workforce.”

Nearly 98 percent of students using productivity software currently use Office. Student Advantage enables students to access the familiar experience of Office in an always-up-to-date cloud service across their compatible PCs, tablets and phones.

Read the full announcement here:

• New study reveals most important skills for students
  http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/press/2013/oct13/10-15skillspr.aspx

A customer of mine in the past had this issue so I thought it important that I raise the awareness of this article.  Ask PFE Platforms wrote an article about “how to audit changes to AD-integrated DNS Zones”. 

Now for those of you that know what this implies, you know it’s a potentially catastrophic issue that can result in massive corporate downtime with NO ONE being able to log in throughout the company unless they somehow have address resolution cached previously.  Basically, if someone screws up or deletes AD-related DNS records, if there’s no precautions or auditing in place, you may have no idea who did it and there’s no accountability.

If this is something that sounds like it could happen to you, you need to read this article before it does:

• Ask Premier Field Engineering (PFE) Platforms:
  Who Moved the DNS Cheese? Auditing for AD-Integrated DNS Zone and Record Deletions
  http://blogs.technet.com/b/askpfeplat/archive/2013/10/12/who-moved-the-dns-cheese-auditing-for-ad-integrated-dns-zone-and-record-deletions.aspx

I got asked this by a friend so I figure it’s worth posting in case it wasn’t well known.  The recent announcement about Remote Desktop (RDP) clients being released for iOS & Android were surprises to most folks – including myself.

• Microsoft unleashes fall wave of enterprise cloud solutions
  “…Further, with Windows Server 2012 R2 Microsoft is introducing the Microsoft Remote Desktop app, available for download in application stores later this month, to provide easy access to PCs and virtual desktops on a variety of devices and platforms, including Windows, Windows RT, iOS, OS X and Android.”
  http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/press/2013/oct13/10-07hybridcloudpr.aspx

WAIT… WHAT ABOUT iTAP?
Some folks in the IT industry with experience in this space remembered that for Mac OS X support for RDP & other platforms, the generally accepted way of connecting to Remote Desktop Services was to go to a solution commonly known as “iTap” from a company called HLW Software Development.  The “original” RDP client for Mac OS X from Microsoft had effectively ceased to evolve (it had no edge gateway support, for example, which was a showstopper for Enterprises) and there were no Microsoft-supported clients for iOS & Android.

Then one day, the iTap web site had this written on it:

• iTap Mobile: “Important Update”
  Effective October 8th 2013, iTAP mobile RDP apps for iOS, Mac OS X and Android platforms are discontinued.  We will continue to support the customers who have installed this app up to this date but the app will no longer be available at the application stores and no further updates will be released. We recommend you evaluate the new Microsoft Remote Desktop app available in app stores later this month.
  http://itap-mobile.com/itap-rdp

HMM.  THAT SOUNDS CURIOUS.
Notice that there’s not remarks about Microsoft competing against their business by releasing free RDP clients for iOS/OSX/Android.  Of course that led everyone to believe that iTap’s technology had been acquired by Microsoft.  After all, if their not complaining, may be they got something out of all of this.

And lo-and-behold:

• NEOWIN: “Microsoft buys assets from iTap for Windows Server 2012 R2 Remote Desktop apps”
  QUOTE: ”Microsoft acquired specific IP assets from HLW Software Development GmbH (HLW). This was used as a base for development, on top of which we implemented, amongst other things: RDP 8, RemoteApp support, multitouch, and all new UI.”
  http://www.neowin.net/news/microsoft-buys-assets-from-itap-for-windows-server-2012-r2-remote-desktop-apps

So there you go.  The key thing here is that this isn’t 1.0 technology:  It’s battle tested through iTap/HLW and the great news is that RDS/RDP customers now get it for no charge.

Now here’s a doozy.  Microsoft Press just released a free 130pg eBook written by ZDnet journalist, Ed Bott, called “Introducing Windows 8.1 for IT Professionals – Technical Overview”.  Check out this table of contents:

Table of Contents:

• Chapter 1: An overview of Windows 8.1
• Chapter 2: The windows 8.1 user experience
• Chapter 3: Deploying Windows 8.1
• Chapter 4: Security in Windows 8.1
• Chapter 5: Internet Explorer 11
• Chapter 6: Delivering Windows Store apps
• Chapter 7: Recovery options in Windows 8.1
• Chapter 8: Windows 8.1 and networks
• Chapter 9: Virtualization in Windows 8.1
• Chapter 10: Windows RT 8.1
• Chapter 11: Managing mobile devices

I’ve read this book already front to back.  Yeah, it’s that good & that easy a read.  Heck, I learned something and I’ve been using 8.1 for eons.  (The Deploying Windows 8.1 chapter & the Security in Windows 8.1 primers are really excellent intros for folks not familiar with Windows 8.1 deployment.)

Download the book here:

• DOWNLOAD: Introducing Windows 8.1 for IT Professionals (130pgs, .PDF, 9.3MB)
  http://aka.ms/684270pdf

Read more here:

• Free ebook: Introducing Windows 8.1 for IT Professionals
  http://blogs.msdn.com/b/microsoft_press/archive/2013/10/14/free-ebook-introducing-windows-8-1-for-it-professionals.aspx

The buzz from Google is that Chromebooks have lower management costs, because you can and should do most things on the web.

While it’s generally common knowledge that Chromebooks aren’t very functional when not connected, what’s less well known is that they’re more expensive when they ARE connected. 

A recent study demonstrates that Chromebooks can generate nearly seven hundred times more web traffic than a Windows 8 laptop.  Large deployments of Chromebooks may require investments in network infrastructure that could negate any perceived savings. 

Read the study to learn more.  The conclusions are especially important for academic institutions, which, according to the FCC, often already face challenges

Leading technology research company Gartner, Inc. has recognized Microsoft based on its evaluation of Office 365 and placed it as a "leader" in eight of the firm’s 2012 and 2013 Magic Quadrant reports.

Why? 

• Because Office 365 includes email and instant messaging to help employees better communicate with their co-workers, customers, and partners.
• They can share documents and collaborate on projects more effectively using online meetings and web conferencing capabilities, while minimizing travel and meeting costs.
• The data loss prevention capabilities in email, and retention, eDiscovery, and document management capabilities help meet their compliance needs.

What’s more, some plans come with a desktop version of Office delivered as a service. For years, businesses have relied on Excel as the tool for business intelligence and over time, more BI capabilities are being added.

All of this and much more is packed seamlessly within Office 365.

For more information on the value of Office 365 to organizations looking for visit:

• SITE: The Value of Office 365
  http://aka.ms/ValueofOffice365

To download the infographic detailing Office 365 & Gartner’s evaluations:

• DOWNLOAD: Office 365 & The Gartner Group Magic Quadrants Infographic (.PDF, 1.5MB)
  http://download.microsoft.com/download/A/F/B/AFBE7173-93A0-4E63-9800-2C64341CA5DE/Infographic-Value-of-Office-365.pdf

Hey!  We released yet another new eBook that we’re making available for free: “Microsoft System Center: Configuration Manager Field Experience”.

We’re very excited to announce another free ebook offering in our System Center series from Microsoft Press: These unique (and free) ebooks bring System Center experts together to discuss designing, deploying, and troubleshooting some of the most complex and mission critical aspects of key System Center capabilities.

The second title in this series, Microsoft System Center: Configuration Manager Field Experience (ISBN 9780735683044) by Rushi Faldu, Manish Raval, Brandon Linton, Kaushal Pandey and the System Center series editor Mitch Tulloch, is now available here. This title’s companion content is here. If you’d like to order a print version of this free ebook, you can do so here.

• DOWNLOAD: Microsoft System Center: Configuration Manager Field Experience
• .PDF, 92pg, 4.39MB
  http://aka.ms/683044pdf
• ePUB, 92pg, 24.6MB
  http://aka.ms/682986epub
• .MOBI, 92pg, 43.5MB
  http://aka.ms/682986mobi
• DOWNLOAD: Configuration Manager Field Experience – Companion Content
  http://aka.ms/683044files

Soooo… I just realized that I have a ton of notes from the Xbox One Announcement on June 12th, 2013 that I never published.  So since it’s coming up on the release (Nov 22nd) I figure it might still be worthwhile to summarize what I saw during the Press event.

• INTRODUCTION
• OPENING VIDEO:
  Konami’s Open World “Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain” (Hideo Kojima) – Appears to use Microsoft cloud computing
• OPENING SPEAKER:
  Don Mattrick on stage: ”13 Next Gen titles only on Xbox One”
  ———
• WHAT’S NEXT ON XBOX 360:
  Yusef Mehdi on stage: “New Xbox 360 based on Xbox One Styling”
• Gold member Promotion:
• July 1st to release of Xbox One
• “2 free game downloads yours to keep”
  Halo 3, Assassin’s Creed 2… Fable 3
• Releases coming to Xbox 360:
• Splinter Cell Blacklist
• Lightning Returns – Final Fantasy 13
• Batman Arkham Origins
• Grand Theft Auto 5
• ONLINE:  World of Tanks: Xbox 360 Edition (Wargaming.com) Online gaming w/ Microsoft Studios
• Team-based 15 v 15 team warfare
• Xbox Live integration
• Download for FREE with Gold
  2) PressPlay Max the Curse of Brotherhood
  3) Bandai, From Software Dark Souls II
• COMING WITH XBOX ONE:
  Phil Spencer – Head of Microsoft Studios on stage:
  ”New & Original Games – More titles than ever in history”
• Crytek’s “Ryse: Son of Rome” (Exclusively on Xbox One – playable at E3)
• “Killer Instinct” (Exclusively on Xbox One)
• Insomniac’s “Sunset Overdrive”  – Open, LIVE,  world
  Exclusively for XBox One, led by Insomniac’s Ted Price (Resistance, Spyro)
• Turn10’s “Forza Motorsport 5” – feat McClaren
  Cloud processing – Drivatar ‘learns behaviors’
• INDIE GAME DEVELOPMENT
  Phil Harrison- “Indie Game Development is a $1B industry that Microsoft is very committed to” (contrary to media conjecture)
• MineCraft – Xbox One Edition
• Remedy’s “Quantum Break”
  Exclusively on Xbox One (Microsoft Studios)
• Swery65 “D4” (Cell shaded adventure)
• Microsoft Studios “Project Spark”
• COMING FOR XBOX LIVE
  Marc Whitten – Head of Xbox Live
• SmartGlass
• SmartMatch
• Game DVR
• DVR & Sharing:  Demonstration using “Killer Instinct”
  Twitch for instant, live broadcasting, including your voice & video
• All of your friends – no 100 limit
• Local currency – no Microsoft Points
  Xbox Live Gold Sharing
• Crimson Dragon – Exclusive on Xbox One (No audio for some reason… production/technical challenges during the event)
• MORE SHOWCASE TITLES
  (NEXT-GEN COMPUTE, SMARTGLASS, CLOUD COMPUTING)
• Capcom Vancouver’s open world Dead Rising 3 – Exclusively for Xbox One
  No loadtimes.  Massive scale world, leveraging cloud computing
  SmartGlass for Artillery Support
• The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
  Open world, leveraging cloud computing
  Voice commands – Exclusive to Xbox One
  Xbox SmartGlass – Inventory & Character Dev
• EA Dice Battlefield 4:
  60fps FrostBite 3 Engine
  Second Assault Map Pack on Xbox Live first
• What lies "Below": Exclusively on Xbox One (Indie)
• 5 new studios
  Blacktusk – AAA Exclusive game
• 343 Industries “Halo Intellectual Property
• Halo Spartan Assault
• Halo TV Series with Steven Spielberg
• ‘Halo for Xbox One” – New engine, cloud computing, 60fps
  2014
• XBOX ONE RELEASE
• November 22nd
• $499
• CLOSING SHOWCASE:
  Respawn’s “TitanFall”
• From the people that brought you “Call of Duty”
  (And these guys are pissed at Activision.  They look like they’re really looking to really advance the state of the art of combat.)
• On-ground combat
• Mech-based combat
• Kurt’s Comment: “OMG, this game looks unbelievable… like Ryse.”
• Cloud computing-enabled multiplayer gameplay
• Spring 2014 Exclusive to Xbox One

Big news from this past week for Lync users on mobile devices, specifically Windows Phone, iPhone and iPad.

I’m happy to share today that we’ve delivered our third update for Windows Phone, iPhone and iPad this year alone and that they are now available for download from their respective app stores. This release delivers two main improvements for users that I’ll explain in more detail below:

• Join and participate in a Lync Meeting without having to own a Lync account.
• Start an unscheduled (impromptu) Lync Meeting (either IM or video) directly from your mobile device with multiple participants.

Read more here:

• NEWS: New Features Available for Windows Phone, iPhone and iPad Lync mobile apps
  http://blogs.technet.com/b/lync/archive/2013/10/08/new-features-available-for-windows-phone-iphone-and-ipad-lync-mobile-apps.aspx

See the snapshot of the Windows XP Countdown Gadget to the right there?  I think this is all that needs to be said.

WHAT ARE MY OPTIONS?
There are three options for Enterprise customers:

1. Upgrade to a supported version of Windows (like Windows 7 or Windows 8 since Windows Vista is already into Extended Support, i.e. only security hotfixes are being produced for it)
2. Discuss signing a Custom Support Agreement if you have a Premier Services Agreement with Microsoft (which is typically very expensive – $500,000+ & $50k per custom hotfix – however maybe an option for you if it’s less expensive relative to the costs of transitioning to a newer version of Windows, i.e. medical equipment manufacturer’s etc.)
3. Remain on Windows XP & prepare to be unprotected from zero-day vulnerabilities that launch after April 8th, 2014 (bearing in mind that Microsoft will no longer be a source of vulnerability intelligence to 3rd parties as we have for the past 13 years)

WHAT SHOULD I DO?
Now, in case you don’t know what sort of services exist to assist in transitioning from Windows XP to a better support, here’s one place you should definitely look:

Windows XP End of Support Web Site:
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/endofsupport.aspx