Kurt Shintaku's Blog

Today in Windows 10/11 the default behavior is, if you type in 12/31/29, this resolves to 12/31/2029.

If you type 12/31/30, this resolves to 12/31/1930.

Changing this behavior on a Windows 10/11 workstation:
If you are looking to change this behavior on an individual Windows 10/11 workstation, this is documented

in the article below:

Windows 10

1. In the search box on the taskbar, type control panel, and then select Control Panel.

2. Under Clock, Language and Region, click Change date, time, or number formats

3. Click Regional and Language Options.

4. In the Region dialog box, click Additional settings.

5. Click the Date tab.

6. In the When a two-digit year is entered, interpret it as a year between box, change the upper limit for the century.

As you change the upper-limit year, the lower-limit year automatically changes.

7. Click OK.

Creating a Group Policy Object to distribute this change organization wide
Applying this across an organization’s workstations would require the creation of a Group Policy Object (or modifying an existing one) that makes this change on every organization-managed workstation.

A general tutorial on how to do this from the “Group Policy Management” console is written about here.
https://theezitguy.wordpress.com/2014/08/07/group-policy-use-regional-settings-to-change-date-format/comment-page-1/

Microsoft has published a tremendous about of information – documents, videos, podcasts, books, case studies & tools – about:

• how we believe AI should be used
• how we communicate this to our employees
• what we do in practice to adhere to our principles around responsible AI use
• how other organizations can benefit from this work & research

Microsoft’s public position on how AI should be used:
We are committed to the advancement of AI driven by ethical principles.  Read the latest on AI policy, research, and engineering.

• Microsoft Responsible AI
• Tools for organizations to support & drive Responsible AI
  • Human-AI Experience (HAX) Workbook: Help your organization define and implement best practices for human-AI interaction.
  • AI Fairness Checklist: Help your AI practitioners prioritize fairness as they develop AI systems.
  • Responsible AI Impact Assessment Checklist:
  • Responsible AI Dashboard: Access a suite of tools to help you create a customized, end-to-end responsible AI experience.

Microsoft guidance for our employees on how to use AI:
Explore Microsoft’s own internal guidance on how to design, build, and test AI systems in The Microsoft Responsible AI Standard (v2), a 27 page document that goes over the goals of accountability, transparency, fairness, reliability & safety, privacy & security and inclusiveness.

• The Microsoft Responsible AI Standard (v2),
  https://query.prod.cms.rt.microsoft.com/cms/api/am/binary/RE5cmFl

(Additionally, we have published an addendum “reference guide” for our “Responsible AI Standard” for customers to review, transparently showing where we originated this principles from including researchers, ethicists, & others: Microsoft Responsible AI Standard Reference Guide)

Microsoft’s guidance on how government institutions should govern AI:
Microsoft’s report “Governing AI: A Blueprint for the Future” is a 42 page report begins with the legal & regulatory blueprint that Microsoft believes government institutions should adhere to. The first part of the report details five ways governments should consider policies, laws, and regulations around AI. The second part focuses on Microsoft’s internal commitment to ethical AI, showing how the company is both operationalizing and building a culture of responsible AI.

• https://aka.ms/May25WhitePaper

(Additionally, for those looking for a summary, a post about the forward of this report is available at How do we best govern AI? – Microsoft On the Issues)

Most people are aware that SharePoint Online storage is not “unlimited” in the same way that OneDrive for Business is. 

SharePoint Online storage is a higher “quality” of storage in that it’s performance, availability & connectivity is higher than OneDrive for Business.  It’s a superior storage medium in every way for multi-user access and consequently a most costly service.

Specifically, customers of Office 365 E3/G3/E5/G5 get:

• 1TB baseline storage
• 10GB of additional storage for each licensed user

…that allows a 10,000 User Subscription License owner to consume 101TB in its current SharePoint Online service at no additional cost.

(Additional storage may be purchased as needed under a agreement subscription SKU called “Office 365 Extra File Storage” for a rough retail cost of $0.20/GB/month or $200/TB/mo)

Effective cybersecurity relies on proactive strategies empowered by cutting-edge tools. At the forefront of modern security, AI empowers you to stay ahead of cyberattacks’ growing frequency and sophistication.

The Microsoft 2023 Digital Defense Report reveals the state of cybersecurity and how the threat landscape is evolving. Join this two-part event to learn about key findings in the report and uncover the latest trends in the threat landscape from a panel of experts, master the art of bolstering your digital defense strategies, and engage in a lively discussion about the future of AI in cybersecurity.  

During this webinar, you’ll learn:

• What we know about cybercrime today 
• How to integrate AI-empowered cybersecurity into your security strategy 
• How you can use the newest strategies to defend critical infrastructure, multicloud environments, hybrid workers, and more 
• How to overcome blockers to make collective defense across organizations and industries stronger, safer, and more efficient 

Speakers:

• Amy Hogan Burney, General Manager, Associate General Counsel, Cybersecurity Policy & Protection, Microsoft
• Jim Eckart, Chief Security Advisor, Microsoft
• Milan Patel, Global Head of Managed Security Services, BlueVoyant
• Dr. Sarah Bird, AI Product Leader, Microsoft
• Lou Manousos, AI – CVP (Former CEO Risk IQ), Microsoft
• Steve Ginty, AI Expert, Microsoft

Don’t miss this opportunity to be proactive about security prevention—register now.

• DATE:
  Tuesday, October 24, 2023 | 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
• REGISTRATION:
  https://mktoevents.com/Microsoft+Event/412028/157-GQE-382

Learn about the newest features across Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Power Platform at the tenth Microsoft Business Applications Launch Event. Join us for an in-depth look at industry-leading, AI-powered capabilities that help your employees be more productive, deepen customer relationships, and drive meaningful future growth.

Microsoft leaders and engineers will share insights and demonstrate how 2023 release wave 2 updates and advancements will help you:

• Improve insights, save time, and enhance creativity across your organization with AI.
• Empower your employees to focus on revenue-generating work and avoid repetitive tasks using automation.
• Connect people, data, and processes across your organization with modern collaboration tools.
• Innovate without limits using the latest in low-code development and next-generation AI.

Plus, get your questions answered during the event in our live Q&A chat.

• ANNOUNCEMENT:
  See new AI for Microsoft Power Platform at our tenth launch event – Business Applications Launch Event
• REGISTRATION:
  https://msbizappslaunchevent.eventcore.com/?ocid=cmmcjtsi3os

If you’re interested in Microsoft 365 Copilot, we have 2 training courses available online & on-demand. The following are 2 multi-module “Learning Paths” that are available online at no cost for 2 different audiences:

• Get Started with Microsoft 365 Copilot (3 Modules – 1hr 50min) – FOR END USERS
  In this course, delve into how Microsoft 365 Copilot can streamline communication and power up your content creation. This learning path, crafted to be both practical and enlightening, spans three key modules. These modules will walk you through the basics of Microsoft 365 Copilot, showcase its versatility across various Microsoft 365 applications, and offer advice on maximizing its potential. Designed with all professionals in mind, this beginner-friendly course requires no previous AI expertise.
  https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/training/paths/get-started-with-microsoft-365-copilot/

• MS-012 Prepare your organization for Microsoft 365 Copilot (3 modules – 1hr 14min) – FOR IT PROFESSIONALS
  This learning path examines the Microsoft 365 Copilot design, as well as its security and compliance features, and it provides instruction on how to implement Microsoft 365 Copilot.
  https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/training/paths/prepare-your-organization-microsoft-365-copilot/

Additionally there are the following “learning tools” available for Microsoft 365 Copilot:

• Overview video
• FAQ 
• Service description 
• Microsoft AI help & learning

DOCUMENTATION
We’ve also published our documentation for Microsoft 365 Copilot for IT Professionals that are looking to understand the service. 

The docs include:

• Microsoft 365 Copilot overview 
• Copilot requirements
• Setup
• Enable users
• Data, Privacy, and Security for Microsoft 365 Copilot
• End user help and learning for Microsoft 365 Copilot

Microsoft Ignite, Microsoft’s conference for IT Pros, IT Decision Makers, Security Pros, Data Pros &  Developers, has sold out for it’s in-person event in Seattle, WA.

ATTEND “IGNITE”… ONLINE & FREE!
But you can still register for the Microsoft Ignite virtual event, available for FREE to attend online November 15-16.

ATTENDING THE VIRTUAL EVENT FOR MICROSOFT IGNITE

1. Register for the virtual experience at https://register.ignite.microsoft.com/, if you haven’t already done so.
2. Start with the recommended curated sessions by job role – IT Pro, IT Decision Maker, Security Pro, Data Pro or Developer
3. Explore the full session catalog of 417 sessions and filter by topic, level, and session type
4. Check out the speaker directory of 178 session speakers

CHECK OUT “IGNITE UNPLUGGED”
Have you checked out the latest episode? Get a behind the scenes preview of what to expect from this year’s event to get the most out of your experience.

• Check out the latest video – Episode 5: Microsoft Ignite Unplugged, Episode Five: Session Catalog is LIVE!

SOCIAL SWAG FOR MICROSOFT IGNITE
The Ignite team has released their "digital swag".

If you’re attending the in-person event or the free online/digital event, check out the:

• animated GIFs
• desktop or phone wallpapers
• profile picture frames
• Teams backgrounds

Get the digital downloads here:

• "Social Swag for Microsoft Ignite"
  https://ignite.microsoft.com/en-US/social-swag

Learn how to get more flexibility to scale, reduce costs, and build a solution that helps you get the most out of your data. Read the e-book, The Modern Data Estate: Unify Complex Data to Gain Business Insights, to see how to modernize and streamline your entire data estate—all with Azure services.

Read the e-book to:

• See a walk-through of the entire data lifecycle and understand how to work with data.
• Find out which data solutions are best for your organization.
• Explore business use cases to see how real-time data can be analyzed in Azure to inform business decisions.

Download the FREE eBook here:

• DOWNLOAD: The Modern Data Estate – The Foundation to Accelerate Digital Transformation (.PDF, pg34)
  https://info.microsoft.com/ww-landing-the-modern-data-estate-turning-data-into-insights.html

Planning to implement Azure VMWare Solution to hybridize your on-prem VMware infrastructure with the Azure cloud?

If you have a “Microsoft Enterprise Agreement” or “Software Assurance on their Windows Server & SQL Server licenses”, you’re in luck! You have a unique benefit called the “Azure Hybrid Use Benefit” that entitles you to use your licenses within Azure in various cost-savings configurations.

For starters, our main page for “Azure Hybrid Use Benefit” – along with the “Hybrid Cost Calculator” is available here:

• Azure Hybrid Benefit – Hybrid Cost Calculator

MIGRATING SQL SERVER LICENSES FROM “ON-PREM VMWARE” TO “AZURE VMWARE SOLUTION”
Microsoft SQL Server Enterprise licenses are required for each Azure VMware Solution ESXi host core that is used by SQL Server workloads running in a cluster. You can reduce this however by specifically configuring the “Azure Hybrid Benefit feature within Azure VMware Solution”, using placement policies to limit the scope of ESXi host cores that need to be licensed within a cluster.

There are also 180 days of “dual-use rights” between on-premises and Azure to provide  migrating. This is outlined in:

1. Azure Hybrid Benefit for Windows Server, SQL Server, or Linux subscriptions – Azure VMware Solution
2. Enable Azure Hybrid Benefit for SQL Server in Azure VMware Solution – Azure VMware Solution

MIGRATING WINDOWS SERVER LICENSES FROM “ON-PREM VMWARE” TO “AZURE VMWARE SOLUTION”
Microsoft Windows Server Datacenter licenses on-prem have physical core licenses that are applied respectively to the physical cores of Azure VMware Solution, similar to how this is applied to Azure dedicated servers. 

This is outlined here:

1. Explore Azure Hybrid Benefit for Windows VMs
2. Azure Hybrid Benefit for Windows Server

MIGRATING RED HAT ENTERPRISE LINUX (RHEL) VIRTUAL MACHINES “ON-PREM VMWARE” TO “AZURE VMWARE SOLUTION”
Azure Hybrid Benefit (AHB) for Linux lets you easily switch the software subscription model for your VM. You can remove licensing cost by bringing your Red Hat and SUSE Linux subscriptions directly to Azure, or utilize a model where you pay for subscriptions as you use them.

This is outlined here:

1. Azure Hybrid Benefit for Linux virtual machines

Finally! "Universal Print" services has landed in Microsoft 365 GCC for government customers – at no additional cost to existing G3 or G5 subscribers.

WHAT IS IT?
Imagine eliminating your printer queues & print servers & replacing them with a single cloud service hosted within & administered from Microsoft 365 Admin console.

Then imagine replacing all your print DRIVERS on your desktops with a single “Universal” print driver that serves all the printers of your organization.

WHAT REGIONS?
Universal Print is available in 2 Microsoft 365 GCC government regions today.

• US Gov Texas
• US Gov Arizona

ANNOUNCEMENT:
For more on this announcement, visit:

• Announcing general availability of Universal Print in GCC/GCC High!
  https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/public-sector-blog/announcing-general-availability-of-universal-print-in-gcc-gcc/ba-p/3939936

DOCUMENTATION:
To learn more about Universal Print in GCC/GCC High and understand licensing and pricing, please visit http://aka.ms/UP_TryNow.

WEBINAR:
We will also be hosting an AMA webinar on Tech Community on Wednesday, October 11th at 9AM PT. Register at http://aka.ms/UP/GCC/webinar/20231011.