Kurt Shintaku's Blog

Description

You need to have a Lync account to use this app. Also, some functionality might require an update to Lync Server or might not be available to all users. If you’re not sure about your account status, please contact your IT department.

The Pre Call Diagnostic Tool (PCD) is a client-based application that allows a user to see how the current state of the network might impact the media quality in an upcoming call. PCD shows a graphical view of your network metrics – Network MOS, Packet Loss and Interarrival Jitter.

Features

• About to get on an important call? Run a quick test in On Demand mode to make sure it will go smoothly.
• Run a test in On demand mode to look at your network’s performance over extended periods of time.
• Diagnose trends with a view of historical test runs
• Having trouble signing in to Lync? PCD’s Signin flyout can help you figure out where the issue is.

Grab the app here!

• DOWNLOAD: Lync 2013 PreCall Diagnostics app for Windows 8
  http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-us/app/lync-2013-precall-diagnostics/9607fe33-2b51-403d-9615-c23f248e7c88

Stay connected to your favorite Office 365 based reports from wherever you are through a connected BI experience provided by the Microsoft’s Power BI for Windows app.

The Power BI mobile app allows you to view and stay connected to multiple live reports from Office 365 from your Windows tablet. Tag your favorite reports in the Power BI Site in Office 365 and have them appear in the mobile app or browse and discover new Office 365 reports from your tablet. Explore reports with the touch optimized experience and quickly share insights with colleagues.

Please note that in order to use your own reports the Power BI for Windows mobile app will require a Microsoft Power BI for Office 365 account. To find out more please visit www.powerbi.com.

Features:

• Stay connected to critical live Office 365 based reports from your tablet.
• Use Windows sharing to quickly share Office 365 based reports with your colleagues.
• Quickly tag reports as favorites to access them later with one tap.
• Browse your Office 365 based reports to easily find all your reports in the cloud.
• Explore your live reports by filtering, sorting, and highlighting interactive content.

Grab the app for free from the Windows Store today!

• DOWNLOAD: PowerBI for Windows 8 mobile app
  http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-us/app/microsoft-power-bi/b7e7c94d-2ea3-4fa6-a277-9d19a1f697ba

The pricing for Visual Studio 2013 hit the web site.  In a nutshell:

• Upgrading from Visual Studio 2012 Professional to Visual Studio 2013 Professional: $99 (November 2013 – January 2014; after it’s $299)
• Visual Studio 2013 Professional: $499
• Visual Studio 2013 Professional with MSDN: $799
• Visual Studio 2013 Premium with MSDN: $2,569
• Visual Studio 2013 Ultimate with MSDN: $4,249

Pricing and Licensing

In addition to all of the new and exciting capabilities detailed above, we are pleased to offer Visual Studio 2013 at Visual Studio 2012 pricing. Also, MSDN subscribers gained new benefits at no additional cost since the release of Visual Studio 2012, including dev and test use rights for Microsoft’s latest releases such as Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2, monetary credits to spend on Windows Azure services, discounted rates for Windows Azure Dev/Test scenarios and developer accounts for the Windows Store, Windows Phone Store, and an Office 365 Developer subscription.

Buying Visual Studio with an MSDN Subscription is the most popular way to purchase Visual Studio and gain access to the most comprehensive collection of software, services, and benefits for targeting Microsoft platforms. Active MSDN Subscribers will have the earliest access to the final release of Visual Studio 2013 in mid-October. Visual Studio 2013 with MSDN will be available through Volume Licensing on November 1st, and from retail resellers soon after; however, you can purchase Visual Studio 2012 with MSDN today and receive Visual Studio 2013 upon its release.

As the entry-level professional product, Visual Studio Professional is the mainstay tool of choice for many developers around the world. With these developers in mind, we created a special, limited-time offer through the Microsoft Store for those who purchased Visual Studio Professional 2012 at retail to upgrade to Visual Studio Professional 2013 for only US$99 (pricing varies by region). For more information, see Visual Studio on the Microsoft Store in early November. After this offer expires on January 31, 2014, Visual Studio Professional 2013 Upgrade will be available from the Microsoft Store and through resellers at the estimated retail price of US$299. The estimated retail price for Visual Studio Professional 2013 is US$499.

Lastly, with the release of Visual Studio 2013, agile project planning capabilities are now more accessible for project managers with Backlog Management and Sprint Planning capabilities available for Team Foundation Server 2013 Client Access License (TFS CAL) customers at no additional cost.

Read more here:
http://www.microsoft.com/visualstudio/eng/visual-studio-2013

Read article from Visual Studio Magazine here:
http://visualstudiomagazine.com/articles/2013/09/30/microsoft-announces-vs-2013-pricing.aspx

We just released a doozy of an eBook called “Introducing Windows Azure for IT Professionals” that covers how to use Windows Azure “Infrastructure as a Service”.  Or in English – how to set up full Virtual Machines in Microsoft’s datacenters through a web browser and run your own instances of Windows Server 2008, 2008 R2, 2012, and 2012 R2… or if you prefer a number of a Linux variants!  Set up your own virtual network, your own Active Directory, open your own ports, and provide your own virtual lab in Microsoft’s “cloud”!

We are happy to announce a new free ebook – Introducing Windows Azure for IT Professionals by Mitch Tulloch with the Windows Azure Team!

Whether you’re new to the Windows Azure platform or are already using it in your business, this book has something that should interest you. Most Windows Azure services are described in some detail, with screenshots used to demonstrate some of the multitude of capabilities of the platform. And for the experienced we have lots of under-the-hood insights and expert tips written by Microsoft insiders who develop, test, and use the Windows Azure platform.

The PDF is available to download today. The Mobi and ePub files will be available through this post soon. I’ll update those links as soon as I have them.

• DOWNLOAD: “Introducing Windows Azure for IT Professionals” (142 pages)
• Acrobat PDF: http://aka.ms/682887pdf (8.0MB)
• Kindle MOBI: http://aka.ms/682887mobi (40.3MB)
• iPad ePub: http://aka.ms/682887epub (22.5MB)
• DOWNLOAD: Companion content:
  http://aka.ms/IntroAzure/files

ICYMI, the Microsoft Management Summit has officially been merged into Microsoft TechEd 2014. And one conference shall rule them all. 

The net net is that the agendas of TechEd & MMS were so closely aligned they basically decided to combine the efforts (and likely the funding) into a single larger event.  Brad Anderson explicitly stated that this was not a “cost cutting” exercise, and given what I know to date, I believe this statement.

Here’s the full explanation:

• SYSTEM CENTER BLOG: What’s Next for MMS
  http://blogs.technet.com/b/in_the_cloud/archive/2013/10/01/what-s-next-for-mms.aspx

Please keep in mind the other conferences being run as well, which I will link to later when I get the chance.

Microsoft just posted as America’s #1 most inspiring company according to Forbes.com.

Microsoft, the 38-year-old Redwood, Wash.-based software giant, returned to the No. 1 spot after a two-year hiatus. In 2011 and 2012 Apple landed at the top of the heap—while Microsoft held the No. 3 and No. 5 spots, respectively. But thanks to the company’s philanthropic initiatives, passionate employees and stellar leadership, it reclaimed the title of America’s Most Inspiring Company this year.

“There is clearly an emphasis within Microsoft to give back,” Barber says. “In speaking with their employees, Bill Gates is often quoted saying, ‘we have been given much and therefore much is expected of us.’ What is impressive is that it is not just the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation worthy of this reputation. The company has donated to over 31,000 nonprofits since 1983 and raised over $1 billion through employee giving. Every Microsoft employee is given the opportunity to have their personal cash contribution matched by the company, dollar for dollar, for up to $12,000. That’s impressive.”

He adds: “Many respondents were aware that Microsoft makes huge profits and they actually applauded because it was so obvious to them that Microsoft uses its profit and influence to help make the world a better place.”

…

Read more here:

• FORBES: America’s Most Inspiring Companies of 2013
  http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2013/10/01/americas-most-inspiring-companies-2013/

The updated Microsoft Products Portfolio documentation has been updated.

There are two versions – one for all our products and one for ONLY ENTERPRISE products.  The following items have been added to both:

• Microsoft Surface 2 and Microsoft Surface Pro 2 in Hardware area on the top
• SFTP to BizTalk LOB Adaptors
• eDiscovery, and Federated Search to SharePoint 2013 block
• Office Mobile for Android /  iOS to Office 365
• De-Duplication, Storage Tiring, Azure Pack to Windows server 2012 R2

The following items have been changed/removed:

• All-up view:
• “Xbox 360 & Kinect” to “Xbox One & Kinect”
• Both views:
• Windows 8 (X86/X64) to Windows 8.1 (X86/X64)
• Windows RT (ARM) to Windows RT 8.1 (ARM)
• Windows 8 Pro (X86 / X64) to Windows 8.1 Pro (X86 / X64)

Download the documents here:

• Microsoft Products Portfolio – All-Up View – Ver 3.2 (.PDF)
  http://sdrv.ms/1eXtcka
• Microsoft Products Portfolio – Enterprise View – Ver 3.2 (.PDF)
  http://sdrv.ms/1dUxqpS

On-Demand: Surface 2 Launch Event
Watch the on-demand presentation of the Monday, Sept. 23, Surface 2 launch event in New York City here:
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/presskits/surface/surfaceevent.aspx

Review the Press materials & the Announcement here:
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/press/2013/sep13/09-23surface2pr.aspx

For those without the time to review everything in the video, here are my notes from the event:

————————

Surface Pro 2

• Best selling device in it’s class
• Cleartype 1080 HD display
• 46% more color accuracy to the screen – true colors! Really important for professionals, photos, editing movies
• Speakers – Boosted, added Dolby to dramatically improve audio
• FAST – Fastest device ever; faster than 95% of all laptops today
• Graphics improvement by 50%
• CPU performance improvement by 20% – lightning fast
• Kickstand
• Disappears when you don’t need it
• Sounds like a high end car door, feels good
• Now two tilted angles for the kickstand for taller people or people using it in their la
• Battery
• Added Haswell
• Cooler, quieter
• Focused on more battery 75% improvement in battery life 4-5 to 7-8.7

Surface 2 (ARM)

• Performance Improvements
• Double bus speed for wifi
• Double bus speed for memory
• Dramatically increased compute
• Overall 3-4x faster
• 72 cores on GPU
• Silver Magnesium casing
• 3 pieces to 2 pieces of magnesium – thinner walls
• Lighter & thinner
• Upgrades
• Now USB 3.0, not 2.0
• 1080 resolution, doubled the pixels of the display
• 50% less reflectivity of any other tablet
• Two level kickstand
• 25% battery life added (12 hours)
• HDMI out
• USB Wireless
• Windows 8.1
• Will run 3 apps on the same screen simultaneously now
• User switching for families with multiple people logging in with different profiles
• Lock down for children – personalization
• 100,000 apps – Mint, Facebook, Flipboard, NFL Fantasy
• Multitasking gaming & desktop
• Office
• Word, PowerPoint, Excel… and now Outlook!
• Surface 2 camera
• Back camera – 5MP
• Front camera – 1/3^rd in sensor, lowlight camera
• Skype for Surface 2 or Surface Pro 2
• Free international calling for 1 year
• Free Skype WiFi for 1 year
• SkyDrive – Everything saved
• Sync seamlessly
• 200GB for 2 years
• $449 Price

Accessories

• Power Cover
• New Type Cover with 30Whr battery addon
• 2.5x battery life from original product 4-5 to 10-12.5 (3-3.75)
• Feels good, forms like a book, looks beautifu
• Dock
• Never need to remove cover
• Displayport, Power, 2 monitors, 1 USB 3, 2 USB 2
• Drives 4K monitors
• DEMO: Red Dragon demo from Assimilate
• 6K raw video
• Input & edi
• Type Cover 2
• Took a lot of feedback around Productivity
• Colors! New Purple, Pink, Blue, Black
• Keyswitch is shorter, thinner, stronger, faster & silent, backlit (Fades on & off) – Almost as thin as Touch Cover
• Touch Cover 2
• Uniformly backlit
• 2.5mm thin
• Turns off when not being used, auto turns on whe
• 1092 sensors – Touch cover
• Faster scanning rate – pick up typing faster. Can’t miss a key
• Predictive typing
• Type Cover 2, Touch Cover 2 works with old and new Surface
• GESTURES available on Touch Cover
• “Blades” – Design Concepts & Ideas (These are just ideas & not production!)
• Solar Panel
• Painting
• Toy interactive
• Jewelry
• Piano
• Surface Music Kit – Available 10/22
  This last one, “Music Kit”, is real – coming to provide base level DJ capabilities to Surface

Estimated Price

• Surface Pro
• 64 GB/4GB of RAM + Surface pen $899
• 128 GB/4GB of RAM + Surface pen $999
• 256 GB/8GB of RAM + Surface pen $1,299
• 512 GB/8GB of RAM + Surface pen $1,799
• Surface 2
• 32 GB $449
• 64 GB $549
• Accessories
• Touch Cover 2 $119.99
• Type Cover 2 $129.99
• Power Cover $199.99
• Touch Mouse $69.99
• Dock Station $199.99
• Wireless Keyboard Adapter $59.99
• Car Charger $49.99

Usable storage (for North America)

• Surface 2
• 32 GB - 18 GB free
• 64 GB 47 free
• Surface Pro 2
• 64GB 37 free
• 128GB, 97 free
(Additional space by moving 4GB recovery image from drive to USB recovery key.)

Pre-Ordering/Availability:

• Preorders available NOW online (9/24) – http://www.microsoft.com/surface/en-us/pre-order
• Preorders available at Microsoft Stores – CALL STORE
• Shipping/Available October 22^nd

Another free eBook from Microsoft Press.  This one is for System Center Orchestrator!

Welcome to Microsoft System Center: Designing Orchestrator Runbooks. We believe that orchestration and automation are becoming increasingly important in IT organizations of all sizes and across all infrastructure types ranging from on-premises to cloud-based. Orchestration and automation can help reduce the cost of IT while improving consistency and quality of IT service delivery. Like any powerful technology. however, it can be both used and abused.

Our objective with this book is to provide a framework for runbook design and IT process automation to help you get the most out of System Center Orchestrator 2012 and to help you utilize Orchestrator in concert with the rest of the System Center for an enterprise-wide and systematic approach to process automation. We will provide detailed guidance for creating what we call “modular automation” where small, focused pieces of automation are progressively built into larger and more complex solutions. We detail the concept of an automation library, where over time enterprises build a progressively larger library of interoperable runbooks and components. Finally, we will cover advanced scenarios and design patterns for topics like error handling and logging, state management, and parallelism. But before we dive into the details, we’ll begin by setting the stage with a quick overview of System Center 2012 Orchestrator and deployment scenarios.

Download the PDF version of this title (186 pgs, 8.77MB) here and the companion content here (296 KB). You can get the EPUB version here and the MOBI version here.

Read more here:

• http://blogs.msdn.com/b/microsoft_press/archive/2013/09/18/free-ebook-system-center-designing-orchestrator-runbooks.aspx

Interested in Surface 2 & Surface Pro 2 in Los Angeles? 

Come see an exclusive briefing on the new releases, directly from Microsoft Corporate Vice President, Panos Panay – the creator of Surface.

Get an insider’s glimpse into the most productive tablet on the planet! You’re invited to a one-of-a-kind sneak peek at the brand new Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2. Panos Panay, the creator of Surface, will demonstrate its cool new features for a select audience at our exclusive launch event. Test drive the brand new devices before anyone else and before it’s even available for purchase. Space is limited, so register today.

TIME/DATE:
Oct 2nd
5:30PM-6:30PM

LOCATION:
Microsoft Store Century City
10250 Santa Monica Blvd
Los Angeles, California

REGISTRATION:
https://www.facebook.com/events/339370852875627/
(Click JOIN to register)