Kurt Shintaku's Blog

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Join us for a midnight launch party to celebrate the launch of Xbox One on Day One at the Century City Microsoft Store. Starting at 10 PM local time on 11/21, we’ll showcase the latest Xbox One games like Ryse, Forza Motorsport 5, Dead Rising 3, and Killer Instinct. Entertainment and giveaways will be raffled off throughout the evening. Arrive early to secure your place in line – first 50 people will receive a special giveaway! Console preorders are sold out at this time, but we will be taking rain checks up until launch. See you there!

Come for one epic celebration, with giveaways, games, demos, and more.
Get there early. The first 50 in line will win an exclusive prize!

Microsoft at Westfield Century City
10250 Santa Monica Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90067

• EVENT PAGE:
  Xbox One Midnight Launch Facebook Page
  http://msft.it/xboxonelaunch
• EVENT LISTING & DIRECTIONS:
  XboxOne Midnight Launch Party, Los Angeles/Century City
  http://content.microsoftstore.com/en-us/event/detail/westfieldcenturycity?eid=065c47a4-de3c-e311-9ecb-00155d7d3626
• ADD TO CALENDAR:
  http://rtgliveservices.cloudapp.net/Location/LocationService.svc/EventToCalendar?EventId=065c47a4-de3c-e311-9ecb-00155d7d3626

We’ve released a bundle of Windows Azure posters that may be interesting to you.  (I’d previously posted two of these here & here & here)

Windows Azure Infrastructure Services Poster

• Windows Azure Media Services Poster
• Windows Azure Mobile Gaming Infographic
• Windows Azure Mobile Services Poster
• Windows Azure Poster
• Scaling Applications Using Windows Azure Cloud Services Poster 
• SharePoint with SQL Server AlwaysOn Infographic

If you’d like to download ALL of these in one ZIP file, click below:

• DOWNLOAD: Windows Azure Poster & Infographic Bundle
  http://download.microsoft.com/download/C/B/9/CB975B6B-F7C6-47CB-B962-1FC7750B6112/Azure_Posters.zip

The drivers posted to Dell.com for the Dell Venue 8 Pro tablet appear to be much more recent than those posted to Windows Update. 

For those that are new to this, this is generally the case with most Windows Update-published drivers for any device because Microsoft has such stringent criteria (security reviews, regression testing, contractual agreements, etc.) for OEMs that wish to post drivers for distribution through Windows Update.

For example: “Dell Wireless 1538 WiFi/BT Driver”

• The Dell Wireless 1538 WiFi/BT Driver for the Dell Venue 8 Pro on Windows Update is listed as being from August 2013. 
• The Dell Wireless 1538 WiFi/BT Driver posted to Dell.com is from 10 days ago.
  http://www.dell.com/support/drivers/us/en/19/DriverDetails/Product/dell-venue-8-pro?driverId=4F5N3&fileId=3291492471&osCode=WB32A

For more updated drivers for the Dell Venue 8 Pro, visit: http://www.dell.com/support/troubleshooting/us/en/19/Product/dell-venue-8-pro

(Thanks to my collegue, Brian Larson, for pointing this out)

I’ve been using the Sony VAIO S for a while now and one of the things I really liked about it was that when you typed “Fn-LeftArrow” it sent you to the beginning of a text line.  Conversely if you typed “Fn-RightArrow” it sent you to the end of a text line.

When I moved to my Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Touch, I lost that functionality.  The Fn-LeftArrow & Fn-RightArrow do absolutely nothing.  In fact, I can’t even capture the scan code for those key presses, so I had to think of an alternative.

So how does a guy replicate that functionality?  Using AutoHotKey.

WHAT IS AUTOHOTKEY?
AutoHotKey is a freeware piece of software for Windows XP/Vista/7/8/8.1 that allows you to map a keystroke to a specific instruction, script, or another key entirely.  It runs in the SystemTray and basically watches for keystrokes, intercepts them, and does what you want instead.

• The upside is that it’s extremely powerful because it allows you to remap & program keys to do almost anything.  For example, you can program CTRL-ALT-M to go to http://www.microsoft.com.
• The downside is that this isn’t for mere mortals.  The tool requires that you write a script that maps key names, scan codes or virtual key names to actions or other keystrokes.  It’s not hard to understand for IT professionals but it’s probably as foreign as Swahili to most end users.

For example, this is the script that I use to map Ctrl-LeftArrow to Home & Ctrl-RightArrow to End.  (It also maps Ctrl-Up to PgUp & Ctrl-Down to PgDown) Note that this isn’t the same thing as Fn-LeftArrow & Fn-RightArrow but it’s close enough for me since the Fn & Ctrl keys are right next to each other.

; Kurt’s Mods here
^Left::Send {vk24}
^Right::Send {vk23}
^Up::PgUp
^Down::PgDn

When you install AutoHotKey, it automatically creates a “starter” script called “AutoHotKey.ahk” in your Documents directory that is automatically loaded every time you run AutoHotKey.  This script needs to have the following done to it:

1. Copy the above text & paste into the AutoHotKey.ahk file
2. Comment out all the other text by placing a “;” before each uncommented line

If you run AutoHotKey, it should automatically remap the Ctrl-LeftArrow keystroke to the Home key & the Ctrl-RightArrow keystroke to the End key.

• DOWNLOAD: AutoHotKey – Keyboard Remapper & Automation
  http://www.autohotkey.com/

It’s been exactly 14 years since Age of Empires: The Age of Kings was released. And later this year, Age of Empires II: Forgotten Empires will become an official expansion to the series.  Age of Empires 2 HD, The Forgotten, is releasing on Steam (http://store.steampowered.com/) on November 7.

Microsoft Studios is excited to announce the development of Age of Empires II HD – The Forgotten; the first new official expansion for the Age of Empires II universe in over ten years. Challenge friends with five additional civilizations and technologies, battle through four campaigns, vanquish opponents in new game modes on massive maps, or shoutcast a match and stream it all through twitch.tv.

The Forgotten expansion is being developed by Vancouver based studio SkyBox Labs, and in conjunction with Forgotten Empires LLC, the team behind some of the most popular game mods and content for the Age of Empires franchise. Crafted exclusively for Age of Empires II: HD Edition; The Forgotten expansion builds upon the Age of Empires II: HD experience and will be available on Steam for PC this fall and includes Steam workshop support, new expansion rankings, steam trading cards, and more!

Civilizations
Explore five ‘forgotten empires’, and master their unique units and technologies.

1. Italians
2. Indians
3. Slavs
4. Magyars
5. Incas

New Campaigns
Test your mettle with four campaigns and over a dozen never-seen-before missions.

1. Alaric
2. Sforza
3. Bari
4. Dracula

Game Modes:
Master new skirmish and multiplayer game modes!
Popularized in later titles, the economically focused "Treaty" gametype will be available in AoF. Also commonly known as "No Rush", Treaty mode enables a limited duration of battle-free early growth before focusing on military might.
For a quick paced, action oriented battle the new "Capture the Relic" will see players rushing with their monks to take control of a single treasure and return it safely to base.

New Maps
Explore the unknown with new maps available through The Forgotten expansion. Defend your fortress perched on a hill or embrace the unpredictable in MegaRandom. Feeling claustrophobic? Quadruple the space and stretch out in the new LudiKRIS sized maps! Design expansive scenarios across vast stretches of terrain with editor support for up to 500 units, and share your creations with the community through the Steam workshop.

New AI
AoF will incorporate smarter, advanced AI designed to give even the best players a challenge. Designed to adapt to changing units and situations like real players, you’ll actually be able to learn effective strategies for PVP from the computer. Advanced control also allow unprecedented human / AI collaboration and teamwork for more exciting scenarios than ever before.

Observer Mode
The taste of victory is always sweeter when someone is watching. Start the game as a spectator and keep an eye on the action from multiple viewpoints, or invite your friend in to watch as you dominate the opponent with a new build.

Direct Twitch.tv Streaming
Streaming has never been easier with one click broadcasting directly through Age of Empires II: HD – The Forgotten. Demo latest scenario creation, game mod, or an intense multiplayer battle. If shout-casting is your forte, stream from Observer mode to highlight the very best in competitive play!

Age of Empires II HD – The Forgotten expansion will be available on Steam this Fall. Come check out the AoF multiplayer early at PAX Prime!

Taken from the AOEF web site at:
http://www.ageofempires.com/aof.html

The PowerShell Deployment Toolkit (PDT) is a set of scripts and knowledge for automated deployment of System Center 2012 SP1/R2, including SQL and all prerequisites, and all automatable post-setup integration.  See Building Cloud blog Deployment track for details.

PowerShell Deployment Toolkit version 2.5 has now been posted to the TechNet Gallery here.  Version 2.5 adds a number of enhancements:

• Deployment of System Center 2012 R2 Preview.
• Creation of Active Directory during VM creation for end to end isolated environment creation.
• Static ports for SQL Server named instances to remove requirement for default instances for several components.
• Validation of components that require full server installations and won’t run on server core.
• Ability for VMCreator to use either 7-Zip or WinRAR instead of just WinRAR.
• Ability to specify network adapter identifier during VM creation to allow Windows Server 2008 R2 and non-English OS installation.
• Ability to specify timezone during VM creation.

The most recent release is available here:

• PowerShell Deployment Toolkit (2.5.2708, 10/24/13)
  http://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/PowerShell-Deployment-f20BB605

For more information about it’s usage, go to:
http://blogs.technet.com/b/privatecloud/archive/2013/08/30/deployment-using-pdt-for-end-to-end-deployment-including-active-directory.aspx

With NetApp’s assistance, this video humorously demonstrates the power of a new toolkit to migrate off of VMware.  Good stuff!

Until now, planning a migration from VMware to Hyper-V meant that even though you’d save money, you’d spend days migrating the VM’s in your datacenter.
Now you can do it in about 5 minutes.

In this video, Migration Mark discusses the this remarkable tool he’s built with our friends from NetApp — the Migration Automation Toolkit (MAT).

The Migration Automation Toolkit (MAT) is a collection of PowerShell scripts that will automate VM conversions. This version of MAT is powered by NetApp’s Project Shift (which are powershell cmdlets found in NetApp’s Data ONTAP PowerShell Toolkit version 3.0. Like the orginal MAT it is back ended by a SQL instance (SQL Express will work). MAT (powered by Project Shift) is able to convert VMs at incredible speeds. Most VMs are fully converted in under 5 mins, so that even customers with very small service windows can use the toolkit.

• To get MAT visit:
  http://aka.ms/mat4shift
• To read more visit:
  http://blogs.technet.com/b/privatecloud/archive/tags/vm+migration+track/

These shortcuts were added in June 2013 to Surface for keyboard jockeys.  They’re good to keep in mind as you tap away at your Surface while in “laptop mode”.

Read more about the additions on the Surface Blog:

• Outlook 2013 RT coming to Surface RT – and more
  http://blog.surface.com/b/surface/archive/2013/06/05/outlook-2013-rt-coming-to-surface-rt-and-more.aspx

These posters provide a visual reference for understanding key Hyper-V technologies in Windows Server 2012 R2 and focuses on Generation 2 virtual machines, Hyper-V with virtual hard disk sharing, online virtual hard disk resizing, storage quality-of-service, enhanced session mode, live migration, Hyper-V failover clustering, and upgrading your private cloud.

Posters include:

• Generation 2 Virtual Machines GA.pdf
• Hyper-V and Failover Clustering GA.pdf
• Hyper-V Storage GA.pdf
• Hyper-V Virtual Hard Disk Sharing GA.pdf
• Live Migration GA.pdf

To grab these, go to:

• DOWNLOAD: Windows Server 2012 R2 Hyper-V Component Architecture Poster and Hyper-V Mini-Posters
  http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=40732