Windows IT Pro

Sharp Corp Provides Full MFP Support for Windows 8 and Windows RT

Tue, 21 May 2013 15:28:00 +0000

Sharpdesk Mobile provides the ability for Windows 8 users to receive and preview documents scanned by the Sharp MFP and also download the scanned documents from the networked device.

On Eve of Xbox Reveal, Microsoft Issues Defense of Gaming Market

Tue, 21 May 2013 14:20:00 +0000

If only things were really this rosy in the video game market

While Xbox has given Microsoft a valuable consumer brand with absurdly loyal customers, it has also paradoxically never directly repaid the billions of dollars in R&D that Microsoft invested, let alone the unexpected warranty repair costs of the current-generation console. But on the eve of a reveal event for its third Xbox device, Microsoft issued an interesting defense of the video game console, arguing among other things that more people are playing games than ever before.

Dell Dumps Cloud Aspirations

Tue, 21 May 2013 12:12:00 +0000

Whether it's due to the lengthy process of deciding how the Dell company will move forward, or that Microsoft is ready with a large, monetary contribution to help Dell's future, Dell has announced they will be stepping off the Cloud train.

The rather splendid Exchange 2013 server calculator

Tue, 21 May 2013 10:00:00 +0000

The old adage is that you wait forever for a bus and then two come along in quick succession. So it is with Exchange 2013 hardware planning tools with the May 6 article on performance planning methodology being followed by by a May 14 release of an updated mailbox role calculator. All seems well and there's lots of goodness in the Excel-driven calculator. But do remember to engage your brain as recommendations derived by software are not always (or ever) perfect.

Tony Redmond's Exchange Unwashed

Azure Is the Future of Microsoft

Tue, 21 May 2013 04:00:00 +0000

Windows, Windows, Windows . . . Hmmm . . . Maybe not anymore

The market for on-premises servers and infrastructure is coming to an end. The future is the cloud, which for Microsoft means Azure.

Adobe Brings 'Shoppin to Windows 8

Mon, 20 May 2013 22:34:00 +0000

Adobe has released a touch version of their Photoshop app, called Adobe Photoshop Express.

Keep Sysinternals Utilities Up-to-Date with SyncTools

Mon, 20 May 2013 21:23:00 +0000

Kenny Kerr has developed an executable that will pull down all of the latest and most current Sysinternals tools from the Microsoft-hosted web location where they all reside. You only need to download the tool, stick it into a directory that you specify, and run it.

Four Sysinternals Utils Get Updated, One is a Major Release

Mon, 20 May 2013 18:09:00 +0000

Four different Systinternals utilities were updated late last week: AccessChk, Procdump, RAMMap, and Strings. Of those released, Procdump version 6.0 is a major upgrade.

Spiff Up Your Surface Pro or Surface RT with New Themes

Mon, 20 May 2013 17:49:00 +0000

I hear from folks quite a bit who are now bored with the stock themes that Microsoft offers for the Surface Pro and Surface RT, so this is your chance to make some changes.

The Microsoft Transition and How It Will Affect You

Mon, 20 May 2013 16:02:00 +0000

Where is Microsoft going with Windows, Office, and its other products in this age of services? Paul examines Microsoft's ongoing transition and evaluates how it will affect you.

Yahoo! to Purchase Tumblr for $1.1 Billion

Mon, 20 May 2013 13:54:00 +0000

Yahoo takes a step into the 21st century with a new media brand

Struggling online giant Yahoo this morning revealed its plans to purchase Tumblr, a blogging service with over 300 million unique users. In a quirky press release, the firm said it wouldn’t “screw it up,” and would instead allow Tumblr to be independently operated as a separate business.

Where are the Touchscreen Windows “Retina” Laptops?

Mon, 20 May 2013 13:38:00 +0000

Retina displays are a bit like well made furniture. You don’t necessarily notice the difference when you’re sitting in front of one, but if you use one for a while and return to a non-retina screen, you wonder if you can unsee the pixels.

Hyperbole, Embellishment, and Systems Administration Blog

Windows 8 101: Getting to Know Windows 8

Mon, 20 May 2013 13:17:00 +0000

The only way to truly drown out complaints about the newly envisioned operating system is to provide enough free education and training to for users to start to become comfortable with it.

Cloud Technology is Progressing and Improving

Mon, 20 May 2013 04:00:00 +0000

Microsoft is building a rich stable of cloud services

Cloud computing is progressing and improving. There have been significant advances in the cloud just over the last year, with the majority of the advances coming from Microsoft.

Microsoft Finally Does Surface RT Justice in New Commercial

Fri, 17 May 2013 20:07:00 +0000

Microsoft has dumped the snazzy dance moves and Apple-type music beat to highlight the true values of the Microsoft Surface RT in this new commercial.

VMM 2012 Adds New Distributed Key Management Feature

Fri, 17 May 2013 19:39:00 +0000

The new Distributed Key Management feature in System Center VMM 2012 lets you store cryptographic keys in a special AD container instead of storing them locally on the server.

Stop Bellyaching about Windows 8 and use Windows 7

Fri, 17 May 2013 19:11:00 +0000

Windows 8 is new and flashy, probably not the best solution for grandparents who still rely on a Timex winding watch to tell the time.

10 Steps Microsoft Should Take to Fix Windows 8

Fri, 17 May 2013 15:11:00 +0000

Michael Otey

Windows 8 suggestions from customers

Microsoft could appease disgruntled Windows 8 customers if they would bring back the Start menu, eliminate the reliance on keyboard shortcuts, and make these other eight changes.

Short Takes: May 17, 2013

Fri, 17 May 2013 14:28:00 +0000

An often irreverent look at this week's other news

An often irreverent look at this week's other news, including Google and Microsoft find some common ground in an unexpected place, Microsoft renews campaign to kill off its best-selling product ever, Dell tanks while Carl Icahn tries to rob its corpse, Gates is ironically number one again thanks to monopoly busting, the DOJ details its evidence against Apple in ebook price-fixing case, and Apple responds by pointing in the other direction.

Downloading the Surface Pro Enterprise Deployment Guide

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:00:00 +0000

As part of the Surface Pro firmware and driver pack download page, you can also choose to just download the Enterprise Deployment Guide for the Surface Pro.

Surface Pro Firmware and Driver Pack Update for May 2013

Fri, 17 May 2013 12:00:00 +0000

Microsoft has recently released the May 2013 version to coincide with the regular release through Windows Update.

Expanding Tabs to Spaces in PowerShell

Fri, 17 May 2013 04:00:00 +0000

A custom function makes this task easy

Although the More.com program in Windows can expand tabs to spaces, here's a native PowerShell function that performs this task so you can take better advantage of PowerShell's pipeline.

Microsoft Uses Security as the Latest Driver to Spur Cloud Adoption

Thu, 16 May 2013 20:48:00 +0000

Microsoft has released a report containing data collected for 6 months using their Cloud Security Readiness Tool (CSRT).

Windows 8's New Security Features

Thu, 16 May 2013 20:28:00 +0000

Take a look at new features and changes

Systems administrators need to understand Windows 8's new security features. This article discusses application containers, SmartScreen, IE Enhanced Protected Mode, and other changes to Windows security.

The Claims Rule Language in Active Directory Federation Services

Thu, 16 May 2013 20:23:00 +0000

Learn the basics of how AD FS builds claims, and dive deep into the language that makes it all work.

The Essential OAuth Primer: Understanding OAuth for Securing Cloud APIs

Thu, 16 May 2013 19:57:00 +0000

The Identity Perimeter: Using advanced single-sign-on to enable open business communications

Thu, 16 May 2013 19:45:00 +0000

Bing Me Up, Scotty! Use Bing to Prepare for the Star Trek Movie Release

Thu, 16 May 2013 19:34:00 +0000

If you drop out to Bing and enter any of the following phrases, you'll be whisked away to a special page (with full transporter effects and audio) for Trekkies and non-Trekkies alike.

SAML 101

Thu, 16 May 2013 18:33:00 +0000

Are you using Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) technologies?

Thu, 16 May 2013 17:59:10 +0000