In a Windows 8 Server-related job listing I ran across on Microsoft’s Careers site today, the Data Lifecycle Management (DLM) team is looking for a Software Design Engineer in Test (SDET) to, “…collaborate with many Windows teams to ship a quality backup solution in [the] Win 8 timeframe.” Also to quote, the DLM team has “…just released System Center Data Protection Manager 2010 (DPM) (Version 3 release) to a multi-billion dollar data protection market and are currently working on the Version 4 of the DPM Product and Windows Server 8 backup.”

The aforementioned are the juicy bits of the job ad, but here’s the full thing in its glory — should you be interested in possibly applying for it :

Exciting career opportunities in Data Lifecycle Management (DLM) team!

v Join a team that is in start-up mode – A team where your technical skills and quality aptitude will make a great impact on the product’s success
v See how your customer engagements and technical contributions clearly impact the market, touch customers & partners!
v Be part of a team that is building a winning strategy & a successful product, in a highly competitive landscape!

“Never lose your data” is our simple, yet high impact promise to our customers. We are organized as a Product Unit in the System Center Division, with full business charter & complete end to end ownership of developing data protection & data lifecycle management solutions. We own inbox data protection platform & solution in Windows as well as Data Protection Manager for backup of all Microsoft workloads like Exchange, SQL, SharePoint, Hyper-V, Laptops and File Server. We have just released System Center Data Protection Manager 2010 (DPM) (Version 3 release) to a multi-billion dollar data protection market and are currently working on the Version 4 of the DPM Product and Windows Server 8 backup.

If you are a lead who can lead a highly energetic team of testers, have hands-on experience testing products, have strong test design and development skills, are great in solving technical challenges, and you want to help create next generation software for data lifecycle management solutions then we want to talk with you. Come be a part of a team where quality is top priority and the opportunity to make a difference is huge.

You will have an opportunity to work on Windows backup and will have to collaborate with many Windows teams to ship a quality backup solution in Win 8 timeframe. You will work in feature teams where you will have very close interaction with Dev/PM counterparts to create huge impact in the backup space!

For more information on Windows Server Backup, visit Microsoft’s “Windows Server Backup” page on Technet.

Windows Server 8 Job Ad: Click Here

-Stephen Chapman
http://msftkitchen.com

If you’ve never seen the Bill Gates vs. Steve Jobs comics, they’re pretty funny! Here’s an example of one:

Anyway, after looking at a bunch of them for the past day or so, I decided to cook one up of my own based on the one thing I think about the most when I get into debates with Apple bigots (no, I’m not saying that all people who use Apple products are bigots; I’m just talking about the Apple fans who act high-and-mighty). If you don’t understand what I’m referencing in the comic, then take a few minutes to watch the video clip I’ve posted just beneath it. It will all make sense then. Anyway, here is my spin on the Bill Gates versus Steve Jobs comics:

And that’s it! If you’re interested in cooking up your own, I’ve provided a template below. The first comic that I posted at the top and the template below are courtesy of these guys.

Make Your Own Bill Gates Vs. Steve Jobs Comic: Download Here

-Stephen

With all of the details that leaked a few months ago about Windows 8 — as well as Steve Ballmer’s recent comments about Windows 8 being Microsoft’s riskiest product currently in development — I wanted to take a moment to address the IT crowd and see what you folks have had to deal with where Windows 7 is concerned and to find out if you’re looking forward to Windows 8 at all. For those of you who have worked with Windows 7 machines, do they seem much more “healthy” than the other machines you deal with? Are there features you already know you would like to see present in Windows 8?

Where my personal experience is concerned, I only deal with XP and Windows 7 machines. Although there are a number of features I would like to see happen in Windows 8, Windows 7 definitely seems to have made an impact on the improvement of IT-related problems people still experience with Windows XP today. I am forever pushing for the company I work for to consider upgrading from XP to Windows 7 even if only for the resolution of certain issues that continue to plague them today (which equates to a LOT of money being spent on the proper individuals who maintain system health).

So, thanks to all the enterprises who *still* adopt XP (and Windows 2000, amazingly), there are plenty of individuals and companies providing IT services that won’t be going out of business any time soon! What about you, though? Are you an individual or a company who gets to be hands-on with current and past iterations of Windows? If so, what’s your opinion of Windows 7 and what are some of the features you would like to see built in Windows 8 that you think could help make your job easier? Please weigh in your opinions below as I really would like to read what those of you in the field think!

-Stephen Chapman
http://msftkitchen.com

While taking a look around the Web earlier today, I stumbled across some kiosk maker software that got me thinking on Windows 8 — specifically, if it made any sense for Microsoft to add something like this into Windows 8. Personally, I think there could be many applications for something like this in Windows, but I’m not sure this specific functionality would be worth the cost of Windows alone.

First and foremost, there are the scenarios where businesses turn computers into single-use workstations that serve very specific functions. For instance, if you go to a Verizon store and use one of their kiosks to put your name down on a list or browse for in-store products, etc. Or how about if you go into a Borders book store or something of that nature and they have the computers which allow you to browse a store-specific version of borders.com to find something you’re looking for in-store? Even still, how about the times you go to a store like Best Buy and use one of their machines to browse in-store products? The business kiosk scenario is one I think we can all associate with in terms of having seen and/or used them, but what are some other great scenarios for utilizing functionality like this?

Well, how about schools, libraries, and publicly-accessible government establishments? I can think of plenty of task-specific workstation uses for those types of facilities! Maybe a school, publicly-accessible government establishment, or otherwise would like to make specific types of records only accessible via a single computer whereby they could log all activity and not allow any other types of tasks to be performed on that computer. Where libraries are concerned, there’s always the need to be filled for looking up books, checking their availability, etc. And we all know libraries have computers which access the internet that are made available to the public, so there are plenty of uses for having something like this built into Windows 8 provided places like public libraries actually upgraded to something like Windows 8.

Naturally, the question then becomes affordability. If your only task is to turn a workstation into a kiosk, then maybe a piece of software would be your best bet. However, if you’re like me and you have a plethora of computers where you know you will upgrade them all to Windows 8 and you have that one desktop that sits out available for any and all to use (if you have parties, family get-togethers at your place, etc.), it just might be a nifty little tool to have available to you. Oh, and it can’t go without being mentioned that there’s always the concern of privacy, but whether you’re using a public computer that’s running some sort of proprietary kiosk maker software or a rendition of Windows (like Windows 8, of course) which provides built-in kiosk maker functionality, you should always be aware of your environment.

Anyway, I just thought this would be some nifty functionality added to Windows 8 and I can’t imagine it would be too difficult for Microsoft to implement. The number of people who need something like this is probably quite low on their customer demand list, so I won’t hold my breath.

-Stephen Chapman
http://msftkitchen.com

Since writing the following short on a particular Windows 7 certification practice test that was made freely available, I’ve received a number of emails from people inquiring about Microsoft certifications in general; everything from if they’re a valid means of getting you out of where you are job-wise and into something much more enjoyable to Microsoft training classes, where people can take the tests, exam costs, et al. As for their validity, Microsoft certifications can absolutely be the way to go if you’re looking to get into a new career.

There are quite a number of choices you can make where Microsoft certifications are concerned: MCAS, MCITP, MCPD, MCSA, MCSE, MCTS, etc. So, where do you start to learn about all of them? Naturally, Microsoft’s Web site is a great point of reference. Check out the Microsoft Certification Overview page to get a feel for how extensive these programs actually are. If you want to take it a step further, you can have a look at Wikipedia’s Microsoft certification page to see how the certifications have changed through the years. Only then will you get a good feel for their legitimacy (part of why they are very credible ways to make a grand entrance into a new field of technical expertise).

Once you make the decision to really dig in, the next step is to start studying interactively or locally at a school or training facility like ACE, CPCC, or wherever is local/convenient for you. The cost of training is ultimately up to how you choose to learn, but where the exams themselves are concerned, each one costs about $125 to take. One look at Indeed shows that a job requiring MCP (Microsoft Certified Professional) credentials has the potential to pay and pay big — just another justification for putting in the effort to attain certified status (the other justification being job satisfaction)!

So, if you’ve been considering certification, start by asking yourself what your goal is. What do you want to achieve? When you get a rough idea, begin browsing job sites like Indeed, Career Builder, Monster, et al and see what kind of qualifications/certifications are expected of you. Sites like Indeed will also provide a salary range on the left-hand side of the site, so you can get a good idea of if compensation will be sufficient for the time you put in to begin your new career.

All the best to you should you decide to make the move and step towards a new career as an MCP!

-Stephen

Before I get into this, let me just say that I never thought I would actually join the ranks of the masses who have experienced something now commonly referred to as “Dell Hell.” With that said, please allow what’s to follow to serve as a cautionary tale should you currently be considering the purchase of a new Dell machine.

I’m going to start with the conclusion for those of you who want the end result up front. Long story short, I’m out $1000 and there’s not a damn thing I’ve been able to do about it through the channels of Dell’s support systems that us mere mortals are left to contend with. So, here I am resorting to writing a post and then sending it to everyone I can until I hopefully get the attention of someone who cares. DO NOT order a Dell system online if you want to split the charges between a Dell preferred account and your own card! If you do, make sure you’ve got enough in the bank just in case Dell decides to charge your card for the full amount PLUS the amount that they should have charged you for in the first place (that’s right; you may initially be out the grand total of the FULL cost of your purchase PLUS the amount you initially intended to go on your card)!

To take it back to the beginning, I was interested in purchasing a Dell m11x. They were running a $300-off special, so I decided I would configure one via the Web site, see how much it cost, then apply for a Dell preferred account. Well, I was happy to be instantly approved for a $1000 credit limit on a Dell preferred account! I’m always up for building my credit, so this was a great opportunity — or so I thought. After being ridiculously careful with how I went about paying for the m11x, I selected to put $1000 onto the Dell preferred account and have the remainder charged to my debit card. The VERY last thing I could have happen was to have all $1400+ extracted from my bank account because then I wouldn’t be able to make rent.

Well, that was a Saturday night. Low and behold, I check my bank account the following Tuesday and sure as the day is long, Dell charged the full freakin’ amount to my debit card! At this point, I was already furious because I was EXTREMELY careful to see to this very thing not having even the slightest possibility of happening. Now I couldn’t make rent. Thanks, Dell!

After calling Dell and discussing the matter with them, they said I would have refund of the full amount, then they would split the charge as it should have been split: $1000 to my Dell preferred account and $400+ to my debit. I had to give what I felt was a really stupid excuse to my renters for being a bit late with my rent (who actually says, “uh, yeah, I need a few days because I bought a laptop but got overcharged by Dell”), but whatever. It is what it is… or so I thought. By the way, the person I initially spoke with at Dell was as helpful as she could be, bless her heart (she still continues to try to be helpful beyond what she has control over).

Well, after sending a very long email and requesting it be sent up the appropriate channels to have the Dell site looked at for errors with their payment system, I continued to monitor my bank account. A day or two later, the charge for $1400+ disappeared. Completely gone. Those funds were unlocked and it seemed everything was in good standing. Soon afterwords (within another day or two), I noticed a charge for the correct amount of $400+ out of my account. Great! They dropped the original charged, opened those funds back up, then took out the right amount I had originally provisioned. Everything stayed like this for the next two days and it seemed like a resolution to the matter, so I started using my card as I normally would have.

5 days later, I get a letter from my bank. Basically, it states my account has been overdrawn by over $300. I immediately fly through the roof and go running into my office to check my bank account. The NIGHT of the final time I checked my bank account, Dell ONCE AGAIN charged my card for $1400. ON TOP of the $400+ they correctly extracted. So now, Dell had a total of $1800+ drawn out of my account. UNBELIEVABLE. I immediately go to my bank, express my concerns and tell them that I’m looking for someone to blame here, because I used my account in a typical fashion based on the data that was provided for me. My account history shows I’ve been anything *but* reckless as well.

Well, the day I received the letter above, I just so happened to get refunded the $1400 that was charged a week prior — but not before the damage had been done. There was now a total ~7 days worth of pre-authorization charges that were charged overdraft fees since my bank makes decisions based on available balance and not currently balance.

Now it was REALLY on.

I called Dell the next Monday since everything in the last two paragraphs that consisted of “in the now” transpired over the course of a Saturday and Dell’s financial services aren’t opened on the weekend. I got a hold of a woman who Dell decided to name “Alex.” Come to find out, the people who were in charge of this whole thing didn’t even transfer the $1000 balance to my Dell preferred account! Had I known that — as well as the fact that things were going to get to this point — I just wouldn’t have called them and there I would have had the $1000 inadvertently recuperated! Anyway, this was just one more incompetent action (or lack thereof) of Dell’s financial department. If I wasn’t taking notes by this point, I would have certainly started then.

After finding this out, Alex was very quick to apologize that my $1000 hadn’t been activated on my Dell preferred account (which, I couldn’t have cared less about since my concern was the $1000 in overdraft fees incurred by someone’s recklessness with my debit card). Once I finally got her to understand what my *real* concern was, she gave me a fax number (512-283-0029) and told me to fax specific details to the attention of “Payment Research.” I created a very detailed cover letter with adequate credentials to get a hold of me. Following the cover letter I faxed them was a second page; a letter that I had my bank draw up when I went to see them about this on Saturday. The letter expressed the overdraft charges that were incurred due to Dell’s recklessness and contained more than enough ways to engage my bank.

I was told I would hear back from someone within 48 hours. I needed something done THEN but I realized I would just have to cool my jets and give them at least 24 hours. Well, fast-forward to now (one week later after submitting my fax and trying to follow up with them numerous times) and I’ve spoken with up to 8 people — first- and second-tier support as well as managers — and where have I ended up? I’ve ended up with having to explain to each of these people the SAME PROBLEM over and over and over and over and over and over again an NONE OF THEM UNDERSTAND WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT. If they don’t think I’m referring to the $1000 credit limit (which they were VERY quick to see to getting thrown on my Dell preferred account), then I have someone condescendingly telling me that all Dell would owe at the most would be $60 in overdraft charges for the two items I ordered (laptop + case).

Oh, and to top things off? I asked the last person I spoke to who the heck “Payment Research” is and THEY HAD NO IDEA. So, here, I’ve been waiting this WHOLE TIME for absolutely NOTHING; all the while, calling and being told over-and-over again that I just have to continue to wait until they hear something back about the investigation into my account. So, here I have been completely left out-to-dry because of Dell’s faulty online system to accurately split Dell preferred account amounts with credit/debit card purchases, followed by their making damn sure they had their $400+ before giving me a refund, but only AFTER the original pre-authorization charges disappeared!

The only option I was given from the last guy I could barely understand was to dispute the charges for the laptop. You know where that would leave me? Still $1000 in the hole with overdraft charges because any amount refunded would be what I’ve already paid anyway. Not being understood is INCREDIBLY frustrating and a COMPLETE waste of my time as a consumer. I’ve tried as hard as I can to get my bank and Dell interfacing with these issues but to no avail. I’m a pretty proactive person, so if *I’ve* had this much trouble, I can only imagine how frustrating a situation like this has been for a non-technical, non-aggressive person.

My feeling is that Dell just doesn’t give a crap when things like this happen. I’m sorry, but a company with the reputation of Dell should have systems in place to quickly alleviate a situation like this. If “Payment Research” is investigating anything, it’s probably any and every way to cover up the tracks of whoever the imbecile was that decided to have a field day with my card!

If I had even the slightest inclination that this would happen, I would have nixed my overdraft protection so that the second wave of charges wouldn’t have gone through. Wow, imagine how inconvenient that might have been for Dell! What would Dell have done if they were unable to take $1800 out of a little peon’s bank account? Who knows, but I’m sure it would have been something along the lines of a threat. Is that really how you operate, Dell?

I absolutely refuse to sit idly by while this situation stands as-is. Dell, you can bet your bottom dollar that I’m going to make as much noise as I can and trust me; it’s going to take a lot more than the prospect of a free laptop to shut me up and make this better. You’ve affected my livelihood and caused a whirlwind of financial troubles for me. All I want is a resolution to the matter and to be covered for the amount of money I was charged in overdraft fees thanks to Dell’s inadequate system. As I write this, I still sit in disbelief that I’m having to do this with Dell. I hope my speaking out costs you even just a fraction of the financial woes you’ve stuck me with. I know it won’t matter to you because you’re Dell and you can afford it. It’s just a shame that a business would actually take the liberty to charge someone the total of the full amount of a product when not supposed to, then take the amount they *were* supposed to *on top of that* before having refunded the initial erroneously charged amount in the first place! Dell, you may have the money to operate in that manner, but those of us who are applying for Dell preferred accounts in the first place, don’t.

Disgusted with Dell,
Stephen Chapman

Well, that was quick! Not very far removed from the release of Office 2010, Microsoft appears to be well underway with Office 15. As made apparent by the screen shots below, the infamous WZor (who were quite active with leaking information and builds during the Windows 7 development phase) has managed to get a hold of some pre-alpha Office 15 bits. A brief write-up accompanying the screen shots from WZor states that they will not be releasing build/lab information or the build itself. Likewise, WZor alludes to a release time frame of 2014 (which I’m not completely sold on) and the addition of “Office Lime”. More on “Office Lime” after the screen shots below (click on them to see a higher-resolution version):

Getting back to Office Lime, Mary Jo Foley writes that it’s a user interface utility for Office and not a new application in development for Office 15. Personally, I remember Office Lime being included in Office 14 (the codename for Office 2010), and though I do not have any Office 14 beta builds to install for verification, a quick Google search yields the following two results that reference Office Lime as far back as October of 2009:

October 2009: http://www.redmondpie.com/microsoft-office-2010-beta-2-build-14.0.4514.1009-zin795/
February 2010: http://pc-main.blogspot.com/2010/02/microsoft-office-2010-beta.html

So, between Mary Jo’s investigations and the two links above, I think it’s safe to assume that “Office Lime” is something Microsoft utilizes during the development phase of Office (since Office 14, at least) and indeed not something to keep an eye on for the Office 15 RTM time frame.

Click here if you would like to read much more on what Microsoft currently has in store for Office 15.

-Stephen Chapman

http://www.msftkitchen.com

I’m just passing along information contained in an email sent to me this morning. If you’re interested in obtaining Windows 7 certification, this may be an avenue for you to consider. ExamForce (click their name to head to their Twitter page) is offering a free Windows 7 practice test that is apparently comparable to the test that will land you a “MCTS: Windows 7, Configuration” certificate. If you’re interested, head on over to the following link and sign up:

ExamForce’s 70-680: TS: Windows 7, Configuring Exam Preparation

And, no, I am not affiliated with ExamForce at all — I just thought someone out there might be interested. If so, then best of luck!

-Stephen

Ahhh, it’s a Microsoft kind of morning! I woke up, checked my Hotmail account as I do every day, and was greeted with a rather odd (yet quite humorous) series of emails from Microsoft! See the screen shot below:

An email from Microsoft with the subject “tbd” sounded rather interesting, so I started with it first. All-in-all, it was nothing special; just an OEM Partner Center newsletter dated August 16th which contained a contest, various partner-related training opportunities, etc. Next, I read the email with the subject “Updated Subject.” As you might have guessed, it was a repeat of the “tbd” email — same date on the newsletter and everything, despite the fact that it was sent the next day. I suppose the importance of it is the contest offering a chance to win a 42″ plasma TV. If you’re interested in said contest, visit the following link to read the rules and details: http://oem.microsoft.com/script/contentpage.aspx?pageid=566235

So, the long and short of it is that I found it hilarious that Microsoft sent out an email with the subject “tbd,” then sent out the same email a day later with an updated subject. Personally, I don’t see why they couldn’t have just waited a day to send out the email… or why coming up with a subject other than “tbd” was such an arduous task in the first place.

I’m just poking fun, though. I love you, Microsoft. =)

-Stephen

Well, after quite an exciting day of Windows 8 information leaking its way out to the Internet, it appears Microsoft is officially on the war path to finding who leaked the information in the first place. As noted on Twitter by Tom Warren of Neowin, the blog of Francisco Martin — one of the first to bring some of this Windows 8 information to light — has apparently been nixed by Microsoft (his blog resided on spaces.live.com). The earliest that these slides can be traced back is to the Website win7vista.com (thanks to @tom_warren for the link).

The documents were originally XPS files converted to PDFs with the goal of removing any incriminating watermarks. Well, win7vista.com made a mistake. As “DanielRemains” — the individual who posted the leaked content — notes, “I spent many hours working on these on removing watermarks etc.” Unfortunately, he seemed to miss a slide and it has undoubtedly brought some unwanted attention to one Derek Goode from HP. Here’s the slide which shows his email address (Update: email address removed from slide by request):

Whether or not Derek Goode is the individual who leaked the slides directly, if it was a colleague who did it behind his back, or some other scenario, Microsoft is clearly on the prowl. win7vista.com wanted all the credit, so I hope they’re ready for what’s about to ensue. Don’t be surprised if many of these posts around the Internet involving this Windows 8 documentation suddenly disappear.

-Stephen Chapman
http://msftkitchen.com