Kurt Shintaku's Blog

A while back I wrote a post about estimating battery wear using the internal tools within Windows.  A fellow named Filipe Lourenço wrote a tool for end users that does this easily without breaking out the command line, while also providing all sorts of interesting battery related information like the number of discharge cycles run,

The tool is called “BatteryCare” for Windows and has numerous interesting features for folks concerned about their laptop’s battery life.  Honestly, not all the features appeared to work for me on my Sony Vaio S, but the battery wear feature did display correctly and that was what I was most interested in monitoring.  It is stored in your SysTray so it’s easy to check out and has low overhead.

Features

• Battery’s discharge cycles monitoring
• The advanced algorithm accurately records when a complete discharge cycle is performed.
• When the configured number of discharge cycles is reached, a notification balloon pops up to remind that a full discharge is required.
• Complete battery information
• It calculates the statistical remaining time in laptops that don’t support the battery time left information and only list the charge percentage.
• Shows all the detailed information about the battery, such as wear level, capacities, consumption, manufacturer, etc.
• CPU and HDD temperature reading
• BatteryCare constantly monitors your CPU and hard drive temperature, either in degrees Celsius or Fahrenheit.
• Automatic power plans switching
• Depending on the power source of the computer, BatteryCare can automatically select the power plan you prefer.
• Control over Windows Aero and demanding Services
• Automatically disable the graphics accelerated theme in Windows Vista and/or demanding services that degrade battery lifetime.
  Once the laptop stops running on batteries, the theme is re-enabled and the stopped services are restored.
• Notification area information
• It features a compact popup with the essential information you need to quickly monitor. Temperatures, charge status, remaining time and power plans
• Auto-updates
• No need to trouble in downloading new installers, when a new version is available, the program updates itself.
• Lightweight in the system
• Given the concern about the battery optimization, BatteryCare does not interfere with the system performance. It requires only a mere 0,1% of Processor and Memory resources.

DOWNLOAD: BatteryCare version 0.9.13.0
http://batterycare.net/en/index.html

If you’re a Halo fan at all… you ought to purchase this movie.

• AMAZON: Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn
  http://www.amazon.com/Halo-4-Forward-Unto-Dawn/dp/B009B8YZIK/
  ($12.99)

It’s called “Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn”.  And it’s the closest thing Halo fans have that approaches the movie that was on the horizon several years ago.

HISTORY
Not too many years ago, there was a movie based on Halo that was being planned.  Peter Jackson was the producer signed to the project & the name Steven Spielberg was even bandied about regarding some sort of involvement.  For those unfamiliar with the details behind the planned movie, here’s a glimpse at what went down:

…Peter Jackson settled on the novice Neill Blomkamp for director. Blomkamp worked to exhaustion for five months preparing the project, which went as far as constructing props and costumes and producing short Halo-themed films as test footage. The project then collapsed. Jackson allowed Blomkamp a free reign in choosing a new project, which led to District 9. Although Blomkamp is still "creatively interested" in Halo, he does not wish to return to the project after working on it for so long and watching it collapse.

THE CURRENT MOVIE
The movie, Forward Unto Dawn, is actually an amalgam of multiple episodes put together.  The resulting film is about 90 minutes long and cost a rumors $8.5M to do.  The plot is described as such in IMDB:

In 2525, as mankind has begun to colonise space, a group of cadets are training to fight against human insurrectionists. One of these cadets, Thomas Lasky, has doubts about his abilities as a soldier and his convictions for this war. Whilst he struggles with himself, the planet is invaded by an unknown alien race. Reeling under the assault, Lasky and his squad mates are rescued by John-117, one of the UNSC’s legendary SPARTAN-II super-soldiers. John must inspire Lasky to fulfill his potential as a soldier and a leader to fight against an enemy deadlier than any that humanity has faced before.

It isn’t perfect but still an epic film & a great example of what could be done with the Halo universe if a studio were to pick it up.  Now that 343 Studios has control over Halo 4, 5 and 6, there’s a good chance that we might actually see the motion picture we’ve all be waiting for.

Until then, there’s always this:

Please join us for our upcoming Microsoft Azure webinar on February 22 at 10 am.  

We’ll take a behind the scenes look at the Azure service & components, dynamic provisioning options and
how to design a service that scales.

• Webinar Topic: Azure 101 with Architectural Considerations
• Featured Speaker: Stephanie Lemus – Microsoft Corp
  Stephanie has been with Microsoft 10 years and has worked with customers of every size and segment. Before joining the Azure team, she was a Windows Server Technology Specialist.. Read more

We’ll also cover the more common Azure gotchas and how to avoid them while developing cost based architectures.

REGISTER:
http://knowledge.quickstart.com/webinars/azure-101-with-architectural-considerations-2/

This is cool.  For anyone that has Lync installed for their corporate IM/Presence/Unified Communications, this might be a neat chotchkie.  It’s a USB peripheral that plugs into your computer and physically displays your Lync status to the surrounding world.

• Do people interrupt you while you’re busy working?
• Do you often check to see if a colleague is available to chat?
• Have you ever walked to the other side of the office to chat with a colleague only to find they are busy on the phone?

If these issues exist in your workplace you need Blync – the Busy light for Lync.

• Synchronize
  Automatically synchronizes with your Lync Presence displaying:
• Green – when available
• Yellow – when away from desk
• Red – when busy or on phon
• Message Alert
  Incoming Call and/or Instant Message alert
• Flashes Red to ensure you never miss:
• a Call when away from your desk
• an Instant Message if connected to a remote desktop
• Both options are configurable via the Blync software

• LINK: Blynclight: The Busy light for Lync ($35)
  http://www.blynclight.com/

This matter has come up quite a bit:

• Q1: Does SharePoint Online provide provisions for allowing external clients to access file shares in the cloud?  We need to provide file sharing in the cloud to users to allow them to share files with clients and we don’t want to go with point solutions like BOX or DropBox if we can avoid it.

  A:  Yes, with SkyDrive Pro in SharePoint Online you can share files securely with external users. You have the option of forcing external users to login using a Microsoft Account ID or you can share using a Guest link without authentication. The following is a good link: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/office365-sharepoint-online-small-business-help/share-sites-or-documents-with-people-outside-your-organization-HA102894713.aspx?CTT=5&origin=HA102788380

• Q2: What is the allocated storage per person on SharePoint Online with the upcoming wave we are releasing?

  A:  7GB per person.  The following is a link that highlights this allocation of storage per user: http://sharepoint.microsoft.com/blog/Pages/BlogPost.aspx?pID=1033

UPDATE 5/1/13:
We just released the Surface Pro Driver Pack for Windows 8, an important component to successfully creating custom installations of Windows 8 for Surface Pro.  Take a look at this post for more information.

UPDATE 4/24/13:
Well… if you’re reading this, it means you’re payin’ attention.  I’m going to have good news to post here soon, so stay tuned.  🙂

UPDATE 2/28/13:
I originally wrote a post here that essentially explained how to install “Windows 8 Enterprise” on a Surface Pro device, since Surface Pro comes natively installed with “Windows 8 Professional” & most Enterprise customers deploy the Enterprise edition of our client operating systems.

I’ve since been told that there many issues that can result from the process I originally documented.

Here are a few examples:

• Touch cover audible “clicks” will not work.
• SDXC cards will not perform as expected.
• Using the SDXC card slot can prevent the unit from going to sleep or dramatically reduce battery performance.
• The display may have features that fail because while the stock driver will work, the one that ships with Surface Pro is a custom Intel display driver.
• …

Consequently, I’m working with the Surface product team on presenting both a complete set of drivers and installation instructions that I’ll be able to publish here at a future date.

I apologize for the inconvenience to readers of this blog.

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[BLOG POST REMOVED]

Just released, Forefront Identity Manager 2010 R2 SP1 adds additional features, increased speed and updated product support to rock-solid Identity Management.

To learn more about FIM 2010 R2 SP1:

• Blog announcement:
  http://blogs.technet.com/b/server-cloud/archive/2013/01/31/announcing-forefront-identity-manager-2010-r2-service-pack-1.aspx
• TechNet What’s New:
  http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj863246.aspx

Released today 2/21, Unified Access Gateway 2010 SP3 updates client support, fixes federation bugs and expands application publishing support. 

To learn more about UAG 2010 SP3:

• Blog announcement:
  http://blogs.technet.com/b/server-cloud/archive/2013/02/21/announcing-forefront-unified-access-gateway-service-pack-3.aspx
• TechNet What’s New:
  http://technet.microsoft.com/library/jj906310.aspx

The fervor over Surface & the incredible demand shouldn’t be terribly surprising in retrospect.  There’s been plenty of evidence that Windows on tablets has had accelerated growth & demand over the last 6 months.

CNET: Windows 8 touch PC demand strong
Touch-screen WIndows 8 PCs are in demand. In fact, PC makers can’t get enough supply of some models.
Dec 4^th, 2012

“"Touch machines are actually selling above expectations," said Bob O’Donnell, a program vice president at IDC.

And that means supply shortages. "Some vendors are actually facing shortages because touch panels are in limited supply. Vendors are saying they can’t get as many touch-based machines as they would like to meet the demand that they’re seeing."

Rhoda Alexander, an analyst at IHS iSuppli, echoed O’Donnell’s comments. "We’ve talked to a number of PC makers that are having trouble obtaining touch panels and some of the vendors I’ve talked to said they can’t keep them on the shelf," she said.”

Read more at:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-57557191-75/windows-8-touch-pc-demand-strong/

Office 365 Virtual Launch Event:
Join us for a Virtual Launch Event for the new Office 365 for business.

February 27^th marks an important milestone with the general availability of the new Office 365 for business.  I would like to personally invite you to attend the virtual launch event to learn about the new enhancements to help drive productivity within your organization. As part of this event the CTO of Toyota, based here in southern California, will be highlighting their experience with the office 365 platform. Given our recent conversations around Office 365 I think this would be a valuable session for you and your team to attend.

Date:
Wednesday, February 27^th 8 am PDT and 5 pm PDT

Why Attend?

• Learn how the new Office 365 can help people do
  their best work in a world of devices and services
• Hear customers talk about how Office 365
  is transforming the way they deliver productivity
  tools across their organization
• See how Office 365 delivers new experiences
  combining the power of social with collaboration,
  email and unified communications
• Join in a live Q&A with Microsoft executives
  and product experts

REGISTER: Office 365 Virtual Launch Event
http://aka.ms/virtuallaunch

Together Microsoft and Crestron Offer a Collaboration and Video Solution for the Conference Room; Debuts at Microsoft Lync Conference 2013 in San Diego:

Crestron, a world leader in enterprise automation and management solutions, and Microsoft®, a world leader in software and services, have developed a powerful video-enabled collaboration solution for the meeting room. Crestron RL™ is a comprehensive solution that combines Crestron hardware with Microsoft Lync® software.

Read more here:
http://www.crestron.com/about/press_room/press_releases/show_release.asp?press_release_id=1801