Ah, 2012 is quickly drawing to a close and the Pacific IT Professionals are proud to have Stephen Rose presenting on Windows 8 at our December 4th meeting.
Stephen Rose is the Sr. Product Marketing and Community Manager for the Windows Commercial Team at Microsoft Headquarters in Redmond, WA. Before joining Microsoft, Stephen spent 15 years working as a network infrastructure design and virtualization consultant for many Fortune 500 companies. His current role includes managing the IT pro community for the Windows Commercial team overseeing the technical content on the Springboard Series on TechNet, managing the Windows7 Forums, the Springboard Insider Newsletter, and the Windows Team Blog.
According to a Gartner study, the average user carries 3 devices, a tablet, a smartphone and a PC every day. With the release of Windows 8 and Server 2012, how does this change how you manage your users while taking advantage of the many new ways to make your users productive? Stephen Rose, Sr Product Marketing Manager with the Windows team will discuss the impact and opportunities that Windows 8 will have on users, IT pros and developers. From a new fast and fluid UI to being able to manage and deploy custom Windows 8 applications,Windows 8 brings new opportunities to users and business.
RSVP here!
Also, since the first Tuesday in January 2013 happens to be New Years Day, there will be NO PacITPros meeting in January.
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
I Like Plumbing
Not the water kind, the telecom kind.
Right now, I'm in the midst of planning and preparing to move our office to a new location. Since telecom is a lot of setting and forgetting, I've been having a great time reviewing the phone numbers we use, what they are used for, deciding if they'll be needed in the new location and refreshing my memory on some of the details of our Shoretel configuration.
Things I've been thinking about:
Right now, I'm in the midst of planning and preparing to move our office to a new location. Since telecom is a lot of setting and forgetting, I've been having a great time reviewing the phone numbers we use, what they are used for, deciding if they'll be needed in the new location and refreshing my memory on some of the details of our Shoretel configuration.
Things I've been thinking about:
- Analog Devices - Our existing office has old 66-blocks wired back to the desks that I've used to punch down fax machines and analog polycoms. Our new office won't have 66-blocks, so I need to allot space on or LAN racks for connecting the wiring pairs from the harmonica whips on the Shoretel switches. And make sure that the two cable drops we are doing everywhere is going to be enough for each location.
- Backup Lines - The phone system will use a regular PRI trunk, but we also have regular POTS lines installed as a backup. Those need to be grouped in a Hunt Group over at AT&T and the configuration on the DIDs need to allow for roll-over if the PRI goes down.
- AT&T is moving away from their legacy Centrex Voicemail service and with our move, we can't retain the few VM boxes we have for external uses. Turns out we'll only need one (as part of our disaster recovery planning) and I'm fine with having an new number issued on the new Unified Messaging platform AT&T is selling now.
- We have a lot of guest phones and old devices on the floor now that won't be needed in the new office. It's time for me to wander around and start collecting that up. Today I have that time, I know in the next few week, I probably won't.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Windows 8 - Any Size You Want It
Windows 8 has launched and Microsoft strived to make an OS that can give you a consistent experience as you move between the various devices you use during the day. Using SkyDrive, you can have access to all your important files and pictures from anywhere.
Windows Phone - I've loved my Windows Phone running 7.5, so I'm sure I'm going to love Windows 8. Pin apps, pin people and customize your phone to meet your needs as often as they change. I often create new groups of people using People Hub depending on events that I'm attending or what's going on. Just this week, I had a "Sandy" tile - keeping all the tweets and post from my east coast friends and family front and center. I will admit I'm a bit of a diva regarding the form factor though, so that might be what holds me back. Most of the phones being offered right now with Windows 8 are too big for my taste.
Surface - Scale up a bit from your phone and grab a Microsoft Surface. The RT version is available for ordering now and rumor has the Intel (Pro) version is due out in a few months. I need some of the enterprise features that will be available with the Pro version for work, so I'll likely be waiting a bit for that as well unless someone wants to send me a RT version to play with!
Desktop - Finally, meet Windows 8 on the desktop. With or without a touch screen, Windows 8 brings you the same tiled experience as the phone and the Surface. From now until January 31st, you can upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for only $39.99. Use the Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant to see if your existing computer can run it.
Finally, if you want to experience some additional buzz around Windows 8, Server 2012 and the newest version of Microsoft Office, check out The New Era of Work, Microsoft's 2012 Launch Event. Events are being held in various locations throughout the US from now until the end of the year.
Windows Phone - I've loved my Windows Phone running 7.5, so I'm sure I'm going to love Windows 8. Pin apps, pin people and customize your phone to meet your needs as often as they change. I often create new groups of people using People Hub depending on events that I'm attending or what's going on. Just this week, I had a "Sandy" tile - keeping all the tweets and post from my east coast friends and family front and center. I will admit I'm a bit of a diva regarding the form factor though, so that might be what holds me back. Most of the phones being offered right now with Windows 8 are too big for my taste.
Surface - Scale up a bit from your phone and grab a Microsoft Surface. The RT version is available for ordering now and rumor has the Intel (Pro) version is due out in a few months. I need some of the enterprise features that will be available with the Pro version for work, so I'll likely be waiting a bit for that as well unless someone wants to send me a RT version to play with!
Desktop - Finally, meet Windows 8 on the desktop. With or without a touch screen, Windows 8 brings you the same tiled experience as the phone and the Surface. From now until January 31st, you can upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for only $39.99. Use the Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant to see if your existing computer can run it.
Finally, if you want to experience some additional buzz around Windows 8, Server 2012 and the newest version of Microsoft Office, check out The New Era of Work, Microsoft's 2012 Launch Event. Events are being held in various locations throughout the US from now until the end of the year.
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
October is National Cyber Security Month
As a system admin, I like to think that I'm pretty savvy when it comes to online security. However, it never hurts to look at some current recommendations as a refresher and maybe pass on a link or two to family and friends regarding ways to prevent fraud, theft and other online ills.
Visit the STOP. THINK. CONNECT. campaign or Microsoft's Cyber Security web page for tips on staying aware and secure online.
Check out my previous security posts for some of my thoughts on cyber security. What are your recommendations for friends and family when they ask you about online security?
Visit the STOP. THINK. CONNECT. campaign or Microsoft's Cyber Security web page for tips on staying aware and secure online.
Check out my previous security posts for some of my thoughts on cyber security. What are your recommendations for friends and family when they ask you about online security?
Monday, September 24, 2012
PowerShell... Now Less Daunting
Last Friday, I had the luxury of attending another PacITPros TechDays... It was all about PowerShell. Jason Helmick taught in SF and in the East Bay. Both days were completely packed. PowerShell IS where Windows is going for administration.
If you haven't had the chance to listen to Jason talk about PowerShell, you are missing a great chance to learn how to use it. Jason is fun, upbeat and knows his stuff. Check out his blog (http://www.jasonhelmick.com/) for more about PowerShell. He might just mention where he'll be speaking next.
So what did I take away from the class?
1) Learn this: get-help
Seriously, it's ALL about RTFM. Learn it, love it, learn how to use it. It's all there.
2) Don't type this: get-service | stop-service
PowerShell can give you a bunch of ways to make your job easier and another bunch of ways to screw up big time. Read and comprehend before you press enter. PowerShell doesn't ask if you are sure.
After 8 hours of lecture and labs, Jason didn't teach us the "Top 10 PowerShell Commands for Administering Windows". We didn't walk out of class with a handout of the everything we'd need to know. Quite the contrary. Jason taught us where to find what we needed and how to figure out if whatever we were trying to do would work or not. And that is really all you need to be comfortable with the command line of the future for Windows.
If you haven't had the chance to listen to Jason talk about PowerShell, you are missing a great chance to learn how to use it. Jason is fun, upbeat and knows his stuff. Check out his blog (http://www.jasonhelmick.com/) for more about PowerShell. He might just mention where he'll be speaking next.
So what did I take away from the class?
1) Learn this: get-help
Seriously, it's ALL about RTFM. Learn it, love it, learn how to use it. It's all there.
2) Don't type this: get-service | stop-service
PowerShell can give you a bunch of ways to make your job easier and another bunch of ways to screw up big time. Read and comprehend before you press enter. PowerShell doesn't ask if you are sure.
After 8 hours of lecture and labs, Jason didn't teach us the "Top 10 PowerShell Commands for Administering Windows". We didn't walk out of class with a handout of the everything we'd need to know. Quite the contrary. Jason taught us where to find what we needed and how to figure out if whatever we were trying to do would work or not. And that is really all you need to be comfortable with the command line of the future for Windows.
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