Kurt Shintaku's Blog

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

People complained a lot that our advertising & showcase videos didn’t highlight what you could actually DO that was special, distinctive, and competitive on Surface.

So we listened.  And here’s 3 videos that show precisely that.

A quick 1:34 clip that talks about some of the technological improvements made in Surface 2, featuring Panos Panay, Ralf Groene, Steve Bathiche.  Touch Cover & Type Cover improvements & design changes.

We wrote one of our most confusing posts ever on the Windows Blog regarding Windows 8.1 Enterprise Edition, so just to be clear:

FOR VOLUME LICENSING CUSTOMERS: 

• Windows 8.1 Enterprise Edition software is NOT AVAILABLE in the traditional ‘Software Assurance’ section of the Downloads & Keys area of the Volume Licensing Service Center.  It’ll be posted there on October 18th.
• Windows 8.1 Enterprise Edition software IS AVAILABLE TO DOWNLOAD as part of a TechNet Subscription. 
• If you have Software Assurance on Windows as a Volume Licensing customer, you are granted a TechNet Subscription as a Software Assurance benefit, therefore, if you activate this TechNet Subscription benefit, you can then access the TechNet Downloads site and download it from there.

Yeahyeahyeah, I know.  However, it’s at least available & hopefully this clears this matter up.  I don’t know for certain why things were done this way however from past experience, I suspect it likely has something to do with the exhaustive process required of posting the .ISO on VLSC Downloads, replicating it through our Content Distribution Network (CDN), and storing it redundantly with the TechNet copy of the .ISO.  Understand that these two ‘networks’ are completely & totally separate (there is no overlap at all) and we actually outsource the VLSC to a different company, whereas I believe TechNet is handled internally and consequently a lot more agile.

Anyway, here’s the original post.

• BLOG: Windows 8.1 Enterprise RTM Now Available To Volume License Customers
  http://blogs.windows.com/windows/b/business/archive/2013/09/17/windows-8-1-enterprise-rtm-now-available-to-volume-license-customers.aspx