Is it just me…
…or does the new Microsoft logo totally look like a Rubik’s 2×2 Cube?
Intel Rubik’s Cube
Just in case anyone ever doubted how geeky I am, this should remove all doubt…
Behold, the Intel Rubik’s Cube:
Picture taken with an HTC Arrive Windows Phone 7 under IKEA DIODER color-changing LED lights. (That’s how I roll.) I hope you find one in the UK, Rob.
Download – Introducing Windows 8 eBook
Title: Introducing Windows 8 – An Overview for IT Professionals
Free Preview
Author: Jerry Honeycutt
Publisher: Microsoft Press
Published: © 2012 by Microsoft Corporation
Pages: 147
ISBN: 978-0-7356-7050-1
File size: 6.44 MB
Price: FREE preview*
Download URL: Click here for download
* This preview is the first 11 chapters
Table of Contents
- Chapter 1: Overview
- Chapter 2: Experiencing Windows 8
- Chapter 3: Windows 8 for IT Pros
- Chapter 4: Preparing for Deployment
- Chapter 5: Deploying Windows 8
- Chapter 6: Delivering Windows Apps
- Chapter 7: Windows 8 Recovery
- Chapter 8: Windows 8 Management
- Chapter 9: Windows 8 Security
- Chapter 10: Internet Explorer 10
- Chapter 11: Windows 8 Virtualization
Description
The Windows 8 operating system is the newest member of the Microsoft Windows family. It differs from earlier Windows releases as much for what it does not change as for what it does change. That is, the features that IT pros loved about Windows 7 are still there in Windows 8—just better. The same keyboard shortcuts, management tools, security features, and deployment options are available in Windows 8. But in many cases, Windows 8 improves them in intuitive and significant ways. Some examples are the ribbon in File Explorer and faster disk encryption when using BitLocker Drive Encryption. This book describes these enhancements plus many of the new features in Windows 8.
Parody–iPad Mini Video
A lot of people who bought ‘the New iPad’ this year were pretty upset to see yet another iPad be released only 6 months later. But fear not, you may not have actually missed out on anything, as this parody video demonstrates.
Banned iPad mini Promo
Windows Server 2012 IT Camp in Louisville 11-14-2012
Title: Windows Server 2012 & Windows Azure IaaS IT Camp
Date: Wed November 14, 2012
Time: 9AM – 4PM Eastern
Venue: New Horizons – Louisville
Address: 7410 New Lagrange Rd, Ste 120, Louisville, KY 40222
Event Code: 163132
Registration URL: Click here to register
Description:
Join Us For a Free One-Day Windows Server 2012 & Windows Azure IaaS Event
IT Pro Cloud events will give you the opportunity to engage with Microsoft Certified Trainers and check out the new Windows Server 2012 in action. Get hands-on with the new technology, and learn how to manage and build your modern data center with the Microsoft Cloud OS platform: Windows Server 2012, Windows Azure, and System Center 2012.
This one day event will cover these topics:
- The Cloud OS: A Modern Platform for the World’s Apps
- Windows Server 2012 Virtualization Enhancements
- Windows Server 2012 Storage Enhancements
- Overview of Windows Azure Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) & Hands On Lab
Plus, attendees of the Windows Server 2012 IT Camps nationwide will be entered into a Grand Prize drawing for a new Microsoft Surface tablet! Attendees can also take advantage of select training and certification bundles on these technologies.
Seating is limited so register today!
IMPORTANT NOTE:
To participate in the Hands on Lab for IT Professionals, you will need to bring your own laptop with the following minimum system requirements.
- 4GB RAM (8GB preferred)
- 40GB free disk space (80GB preferred)
- x64 compatible processor with Intel VT or AMD-V technology
- Make sure you are running Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, Windows 7 or Windows 8 Release Preview, or Windows Server 2012 Release Candidate as your bootable Operating System. Please ensure your network card drivers are readily available, if not already functional in Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 installation
- Make sure you have the wireless working by by adding the Wireless LAN Service Feature under Roles and Features
- Check your BIOS and make sure Virtualization is enabled
- BEFORE attending this event, you MUST download files from http://aka.ms/cloudositcamp
- BEFORE attending this event, you MUST download Windows Server 2012 RC ISO: http://aka.ms/qvl2ai
- Note that you cannot have a drive encryption technology (Bitlocker or 3rd party)
Video – Using the Windows 8 Start Screen
The biggest push-back I hear about Windows 8 involves the huge amount of ‘who moved my cheese’. Folks generally don’t like it when you move their icons and navigation around.
Fortunately, Microsoft MVP Mike Halsey has a great video that shows the basics of how to navigate the Windows 8 Start Screen. Enjoy!
Using the Windows 8 Start Screen
Windows Experience Index in Windows Server 2012
I’ve been running Windows Server 2012 as the base OS for my laptop which can play games such as link vao w88 moi nhat, and one thing that has really helped the OS become more of a ‘daily driver’ is adding back in some of the functionality of Windows 8.
Some of the features I’ve turned back on include:
- Wireless networking
- Sound
- Visual effects
- Biometrics for the fingerprint reader
- And disabling the Shutdown Event Tracker
Tip: If you’re interested in running Windows Server 2012 as your daily driver, check out the Windows Server 2012 Workstation project:
http://www.win2012workstation.com/
After doing some hardware upgrades I wanted to see how well the laptop performs, but there is no Windows Experience Index in Server 2012. No problem though, the WSW2012 project includes instructions for installing the Experience Index bits.
After you install the Win8 Experience bits (at your own risk, and after you’ve backed your PC up, of course) you can access the performance index using the following steps:
- Click in the Start area (lower left)
- Type “performance”
- Then click on the Settings button
- On the left side of the screen you should see Performance Information and Tools. Click on it.
- Now you can run the performance assessment.
Here’s a sample (it looks just like Windows 8).
- If you click on the option to View and print detailed performance and system information…
…the result is a much more detailed list of the specs.
Interestingly, the Windows Experience Index scale now goes up to 9.9.
How to Rename Multi-Boot Options in Server 2012
At the #EarlyExperts study group last night the question came up about how to rename the text in the multi-boot window on computer startup.
Here’s how to rename those text entries:
Open an elevated command prompt in Windows Server 2012.
Type the following:
BCDEDIT /SET DESCRIPTION “The description of the OS you’re currently logged into”
Then type BCDEDIT (enter) to see the changes.
Example shown below:
To change the default boot device, type MSCONFIG at the same command prompt
Pick the OS partition you want to be default, then click the “Set as default” button and click OK.
Free Exam 70-410 Study Group in Louisville
In cooperation with Keith Mayer (from Microsoft) we’ve just announced a FREE study group for the first exam (of three) in the MCSA 2012 certification track.
Registration is open now for folks in the central Kentucky and Southern Indiana area who would like to attend.
But you need to hurry – registration closes on Wed Oct 17, 2012!
Details can be found here:
USB Drive Rotation
Reminder, don’t end up like this guy…
Which reminds me, StorageCraft is coming out with their own Cloud Services offering soon. Details here:
http://www.storagecraft.com/CloudServices/