Archive for Microsoft – Page 2

Long Live Exchange Public Folders!

Back in 1996, Microsoft introduced Public Folders as a replacement for social aliases, and was “designed from the ground up to enhance group collaboration applications” (per this Lane Severson blog post)

By the time that Exchange 2003 was released (13 years ago!), however,  the rumors that public folders would be discontinued in a future release of Exchange were swirling around. Take for instance this WindowsIT Pro post from 2004:

The handwriting has been on the wall for public folders for a year or two. I first heard a Microsoft speaker strongly discourage use of public folders at the MEC 2002 conference. An administrator who attended the same session was in a state of near panic because her university has thousands of public folders in active use.

In a TechRepublic 2010 post it was declared that public folders would probably be gone by Exchange 2013:

Since before the release of Exchange 2007, Microsoft has been telling us that public folders will eventually be discontinued. This hasn’t happened just yet though. Public folders are alive and well in Exchange 2010. Even so, public folders probably won’t be supported in the next version of Exchange.

So here we are in 2016, and guess what? Not only are public folders still around, Microsoft has decided that “public folders are great” per this Microsoft Technet FAQ:

No. Public folders are great for Outlook integration, simple sharing scenarios, and for allowing large audiences to access the same data.

And on February 1, 2016, Microsoft announced they will be increasing the number of public folder mailboxes in Exchange 2016 from 100 to 1,000!

Happy 20th birthday to Public Folders!

Awarded MVP for 2016 (13th year)

imageYea!!!    I received my official announcement from Microsoft today that I was awarded as a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) for 2016.

This is my 13th consecutive year as an MVP. I still consider it a great honor to be involved with the MVP organization, and especially working with the Server sub-group team that I have been a part of for all these years.

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When I was first recognized as an MVP back in 2004, the group I was part of was named “Windows Small Business Server” (SBS). Then in 2013 our group was renamed “Windows Server for Small & Medium Business” (WSSMB). In October 2015, we became part of the new “Cloud and Datacenter Management” MVP group.

The name change reflects the evolving nature of server technology and how it is used and implemented in businesses. What doesn’t change is our call to inspire and help people solve problems and discover new capabilities.

Happy New Years!

Review Microsoft License Terms

If you did not know, Microsoft provides a handy web page to view the licensing terms for all of its current products:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/useterms

Drop downs allow you to select the product, the version and the language.

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Just Received My Lumia 950 Windows 10 Phone

I will be honest. My first two smart phones years ago were Apple iPhones.  I had an iPhone 3, and liked it enough to upgrade to an iPhone 4. I enjoyed them both. I refuse to use the word “love” when talking about a phone!  I also have a Galaxy tablet back then.

When Microsoft came out with their Windows 8 phones, I knew I wanted to try one. So I went with the Nokia Lumia 920 three years ago. I liked it enough that when the phone cracked from repeated drops to the floor, I picked up an exact replacement.

But I’ve been biding my time for the Windows 10 phones to come out.

http://www.dispatchreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Lumia-950.jpgMicrosoft recently announced the Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL. I wanted to get the XL as it is slightly larger, but I decided to go with the Lumia 950 due to pricing and availability through AT&T, who released it on Nov 20th.

I will write up a report of my experience in a week or two. I have some an upcoming trip and will get to utilize the phone a lot during that time. I’m anxiously awaiting arrival of my Microsoft Docking Device

But my first impressions of the 950 are good ones. I was able to restore all my apps, settings, files and pictures. I was able to activate my SIM/Cellular from a web page or phone (so no driving to the local AT&T store to do it). It’s a cleaner image than the Windows 8 phone.

So, in the words of The Rocket Man … “I like it!”

Windows 10 First Major Update

Microsoft announced the release of the first major update to Windows 10.

imageIn prior terminology, we would be calling this Service Pack 1, but Microsoft want to simply refer to it as the November 2015 Update. During pre-testing phase it was referred to as TH2.

This update will be pushed out automatically through Windows Update.

It contains a slew of new new features and improvements, including

  • Improved boot time (30% faster than Windows 7 on the same device)
  • Cortana and Microsoft Edge enhancements
  • New Windows Update for Business and Windows Store for Business services
  • Mobile Device Management
  • Azure Active Directory Join
  • and more!

Read more on the Microsoft site:
http://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2015/11/12/first-major-update-for-windows-10-available-today/

MVP Summit 2015 Wrap-Up

I returned home Thursday evening from this year’s Microsoft MVP Summit in Bellevue WA. Due to non-disclosure agreements, I am not allowed to go into detail about what was presented or discussed. But I can tell you it was a great opportunity to meet with Microsoft product teams and spend time talking with fellow MVP’ers, some whom I have known for 12 years or longer.

My MVP designation is for Windows Server Small and Medium Businesses (WSSMB), so most of my attention was focused on server related topics. But I also had opportunities to learn more about Windows 10, Office, and the new Surface Book that was just released in October.

The weather was a mix of rain, clouds  and some sunshine. In Florida we do not really experience the changing colors of the seasons, so it was very enjoyable to see the yellow and red and orange colors in the trees while walking around the Microsoft Campus.

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On a travel note, I was able to fly Alaska Airlines which now has a non-stop flight from Tampa to Seattle – less than 6 hours. Yea!!! The flight on Sunday left Tampa at 6:10pm and landed in Seattle at 9:25pm (which is after midnight Tampa time). The return flight left Seattle at 8:40am, and arrived in Tampa at 5:09pm.

Attending Microsoft Global MVP Summit 2015

I will be attending the Microsoft MVP Global Summit from November 1-5, 2015. This will be my 12th Summit, and I look forward to renewing contacts with other MVPs, as well as Microsoft product managers, and to provide feedback on Microsoft products and technologies.

Details as to what will be presented and discussed is under strict NDA (non-disclosure agreement), so I cannot share any such information. More later!

20th Anniversary of Windows 95

Happy 20th anniversary to Windows 95!

It was on August 24, 1995 that Microsoft released Windows 95 (codenamed “Chicago”) with this video, featuring music from the Rolling Stones:

Windows 10 RSAT Now Available

Microsoft released the Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) for Windows 10 on Aug-18-2015. This can only be installed on computers running the full release of Windows 10 Professional or Enterprise. The RSAT tool comes in both a 32-bit and 64-bit version.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=45520

Roboform, Windows 10 and Microsoft Edge

I have used Roboform as my password manager solution for what seems like forever. But forever may be coming to an end.

I upgraded my business workstation and laptops over the weekend to Windows 10. Except for a video driver issue and a Bios update, the in-place migration went very smooth. And, for the most part, I’m loving Windows 10.

However …

I was looking forward to really testing out Microsoft Edge, which is the new browser software that Microsoft released along with Windows 10, and it is intended to eventually replace Internet Explorer.

But, according to this Roboform post, Microsoft Edge does not currently support “extensions”, and therefore Roboform will not work with the new browser. According to several websites, support for extensions will not be coming to Microsoft Edge until later this fall. Aarrgghh!!!! 

imageRoboform offers three workarounds …

  1. Make Internet Explorer 10 your default browser, rather than Microsoft Edge.
    Fortunately, Windows 10 comes with both Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer.

    To make IE your default browser, click Start –> Control Panel –> Default Programs –> Set your default programs –> locate Internet Explorer –> click “Set this program as default

  2. Use Firefox or Chrome as your default browser
  3. Or, if you open up a website from within Microsoft Edge, you can click on the “three dotted” icon on the top right, and then select to open that web page using Internet Explorer.