Kurt Shintaku's Blog

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

Windows Azure Backup helps you protect important server data off-site with automated backup to Windows Azure.

• Reliable offsite data protection
  Backups are encrypted before transmission and stored encrypted in Windows Azure. These backups are off-site, safely away from your datacenter, protected by reliable Windows Azure storage, reducing the need to secure and protect on-site backup media, .

• A simple and integrated solution
  Manage cloud backups from the familiar backup tools in Windows Server, Windows Server Essentials, or System Center Data Protection Manager. These tools provide similar experiences configuring, monitoring, and recovering backups whether to local disk or Windows Azure storage. Or you can use the agent software itself. After data is backed up to the cloud, authorized users can easily recover backups to any server.

• Efficient and flexible backup and recovery
  With incremental backups, only changes to files are transferred to the cloud. This helps ensure efficient use of storage and reduced bandwidth consumption, while enabling point-in-time recovery of multiple versions of the data. Configurable data retention policies, data compression, and data transfer throttling offer added flexibility and help boost efficiency.

To check out the services visit:

• Windows Azure Backup – Main Page
  http://www.windowsazure.com/en-us/services/backup/

For more information on Windows Azure Backup, please review the following posts:

• BLOG: Windows Azure Backup Services Releases
  http://weblogs.asp.net/scottgu/archive/2013/10/22/windows-azure-backup-services-release-hyper-v-recovery-manager-vm-enhancements-enhanced-enterprise-management-support.aspx
• BLOG: Windows Azure Online Backup
  http://blogs.technet.com/b/server-cloud/archive/2012/09/07/windows-azure-online-backup.aspx
• BLOG: Windows Azure Online Backup Now Supports System Center 2012 SP1
  http://blogs.msdn.com/b/windowsazure/archive/2012/09/07/windows-azure-online-backup-now-supports-system-center-2012-sp1.aspx

You can get a free voucher for the new Microsoft Virtualization Certification exam by attending our live Server Virtualization Jump Start going on November 19 & 20, 2013 from 9:00am – 4:30pm PST.

Already familiar with other virtualization platforms such as VMware or Citrix? Upgrading virtualization platforms?  New to virtualization?  If any of these are true, then this course is intended for you. Get expert instruction on Microsoft Server Virtualization with Windows Server 2012 R2 Hyper-V and System Center 2012 R2 Virtual Machine Manager in this two-day Jump Start. You will learn how to configure, manage, and maintain Windows Server 2012 R2 Hyper-V and System Center 2012 R2 Virtual Machine Manager including networking and storage services. You will also learn how to configure key Microsoft server virtualization features such as Generation 2 Virtual Machines, Replication Extension, Online Export, Cross-Version Live Migration, Online VHDX Resizing, Live Migration Performance tuning as well as Dynamic Virtual Switch Load Balancing and virtual Receive Side Scaling (vRSS).

This course helps you prepare for the new Microsoft virtualization certification: Microsoft Specialist Exam 74-409– Server Virtualization with Windows Server Hyper-V and System Center. Event attendees will get a free voucher for the exam—normally $150. The number of free exams is limited, so be sure to schedule your appointment to lock in your free exam. Vouchers expire and all exams must be taken by June 30, 2014. 

Course Outline

• Creating and Managing Virtual Hard Disks, Virtual Machines, and Checkpoints
• Creating and Configuring Virtual Machine Networks
• Implementing Failover Clustering with Hyper-V
• Managing the Networking and Storage Infrastructure with System Center 2012 R2 Virtual Machine Manager
• Managing Clouds with System Center 2012 R2 Virtual Machine Manager
• Managing Services with System Center 2012 R2 Virtual Machine Manager and App Controller

Enroll for the course at:

• OFFER: Server Virtualization w/ Windows Server Hyper-V & System Center Jump Start
  http://www.microsoftvirtualacademy.com/liveevents/server-virtualization-w-windows-server-hyper-v-system-center-jump-start?CR_CC=200329231

Get personal 1-on-1 training every week for a year from a Microsoft trainer… for only $99.

If you have friend, relatives, or customers that need basic “how to” end-user training, would like PERSONAL attention, & they happen to live near a Microsoft Store, this offer is absolutely unbeatable.  Folks can get trained on any of the following topics each week:

• Windows 8.1
• Windows Phone 8
• Windows Phone 7
• Word 2013
• PowerPoint 2013
• Excel 2013
• Outlook 2013
• OneNote 2013
• Word 2010
• PowerPoint 2010
• Excel 2010
• Outlook 2010
• OneNote 2010
• Office 365 for Small Businesses
• Internet Explorer 10 & SkyDrive
• Windows Essentials (Windows Movie Maker, Windows Photo Gallery)
• Skype

And each topic has multiple levels of training.  Your friend or relative can spend as many sessions as they’d like training on a given product.

Again, that’s 1 training session for an hour each a week… for an entire year for just $99.  Technically, you can get a SINGLE training session for $49… but I think you’re gonna find that the $99 offer is a no-brainer.

For more information, visit:

As announced on the SQL Server blog:

Today, Microsoft announced the general availability of Windows Azure HDInsight, its cloud-based distribution of Hadoop. Further expanding on Microsoft’s big data strategy, Microsoft CVP Quentin Clark will deliver a keynote at O’Reilly Strata + Hadoop World tomorrow, where he will discuss Microsoft’s vision to democratize big data by providing easy to use tools and a unified data platform. Clark further detailed this approach in a post on the Official Microsoft Blog.

Here’s links to the announcement and where to Get Started:

• BLOG: Windows Azure HDInsight Released for GA
  http://blogs.technet.com/b/dataplatforminsider/archive/2013/10/28/windows-azure-hdinsight-released-for-ga.aspx
• SERVICE: Getting started with Windows Azure HDInsight Service
  http://www.windowsazure.com/en-us/manage/services/hdinsight/get-started-hdinsight/?WT.mc_id=Blog_SQL_Strata_HDInsight

Microsoft SQL Server 2014 brings to market new in-memory capabilities built into the core database, including in-memory OLTP, which complements our existing in-memory data warehousing and BI capabilities for the most comprehensive in-memory database solution in the market. SQL Server 2014 also provides new cloud capabilities to simplify cloud adoption for your SQL databases and help you unlock new hybrid scenarios.

Need more information about SQL Server 2014 Community Technology Preview 2 (CTP2)?  See the product details page.

• BETA: Microsoft SQL Server 2014 Community Technology Preview 2
  http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/dn205290.aspx
• BLOG: SQL Server 2014 CTP 2 Now Available
  http://blogs.technet.com/b/dataplatforminsider/archive/2013/10/17/sql-server-2014-ctp-2-now-available.aspx

Nokia revealed three Windows devices on Oct 22nd at Nokia World, including:

• its first tablet, the Lumia 2520, running Windows RT with LTE support on AT&T
• two massive new 6-inch Windows Phones, the Lumia 1520 (AT&T) and Lumia 1320 (not available in the US).

Nokia & Microsoft announced many new Windows Phone and Windows 8 apps including Nokia Storyteller, Instagram, Xbox Video, Vine, Flipboard and many more apps. Read the complete list on the Windows Phone Blog.

Lumia 2520 Tablet

• “it looks and feels incredibly solid… much thinner and sleeker than we originally expected, and it’s very comfortable to hold” – Engadget

Lumia 1520 Phone

• “it’s a lot lighter, slimmer, and sexier than many other phablets” – CNet
• “Slimmer and lighter than you’d expect of a supersize handset, the 1520 brings the goods” – CNet

Lumia 1320 Phone

• “A huge 720p Windows Phone with a budget-minded price” – Engadget

Taken from the Windows Azure blog:

Today, I’m excited to announce that we have acquired Apiphany—a leading API management delivery platform.

While there is nothing new about app extensibility, cloud computing has rapidly accelerated the use cases for extensibility which has increased the value of the APIs. As you might expect, with expansion and increased value, comes additional work to expose APIs reliably, securely and at scale.  Our newly acquired API management services provide businesses of any size the tools they need to expose particular endpoints while selectively gating access to more sensitive data and services. 

We look forward to surfacing API management services within Windows Azure and providing our customers with the technology they need to grow their API ecosystem very soon.

Steven Martin  
General Manager  
Windows Azure Business and Marketing

Source:
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/windowsazure/archive/2013/10/23/microsoft-acquires-apiphany.aspx

Yup.  It’s that time again already. 

The “Call of Duty: Ghosts” Midnight Launch at the Microsoft Store Century City will be taking place on Nov 4th at 10:00PM.  Arrive early to secure your place in line – first 50 people will receive a special giveaway!

BONUS: We will have 4 special guest developers from the COD team at Activision coming in and signing posters and games. 

We’ll see you there!

Pre-order deal: (Offer will END at close of business on, SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 3rd)

• Pre-order Xbox 360 Titles, Get a $10 Microsoft Store Gift Card
• Pre-Order Any Xbox One Title, Get a $10 Microsoft Store Gift Card

I’m assuming that there’ll be food & drinks even though I’ve gotten no notification of such. <AHEM>  (And if there isn’t… I’ll probably pay for it myself cuz I gots to eat too.)

TIME/DATE:

Nov 4th, 10:00PM

LOCATION:

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

EVENT:

http://content.microsoftstore.com/en-us/event/detail/westfieldcenturycity?eid=23c43c6b-3940-e311-beaa-00155d7d431f