MobileIron - Strike while it's hot!

Some days I bask in my own humor...this isn't one of those days. ;)

Seriously though, I've had some good interaction with the folks at MobileIron, and we have a dedicated tech source for them here in my offices at PCM.  If you're interested in Mobile Device Management, and Meraki's Cloud Controller setup isn't your thing for some reason...then MobileIron might be the solution for you.  I've been talking about BYOD and the C0nsumerization of IT for a long time now...longer than most pundits and sales people in this business...and eventually it's going to catch up to every business out there.  Don't let it catch you, be prepared for it...develop a strategy...and LET US HELP YOU DO THAT.  We are very good at it.

You can get links to the MobileIron and Meraki trainings online on my Webinar Page here.

Take a look...learning is always worth your time. :)

Windows 8.1 - update information

Howdy folks!  Happy June to you!  While outside here in Los Angeles, we're seeing the first of our "June Gloom"...Microsoft's Windows Blog put this up on May 30th to brighten the days of Windows 8 users...some who I believe are still trapped in 2005, but with some better improvements to make Windows 8 just a bit more of what it should be. So, back is the Start button (because hitting the MS key and typing what you want might be too difficult to teach or learn)...and there are a multitude of new things.

You can read below, or see the original link here.  Enjoy!

M.Leader

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Continuing the Windows 8 vision with Windows 8.1

Posted on: May 30, 2013

by  Antoine Leblond

Before we launched Windows 7, we envisioned what the next version of Windows would need to deliver. We made a bet that the PC landscape and industry would undergo a significant transformation driven by an increase in mobility. That bet underscores the changes we made with Windows 8 – it’s a generational leap forward. We built Windows 8 for a world where touch is a first class interaction model, the same as mouse and keyboard; and where there’s a proliferation of innovative and diverse devices that are highly mobile, always on the go and always connected. Windows 8 was built on the reality that the lines between our work and personal lives have blurred.

We’re only a bit more than seven months into this new, bold approach to computing. The response to Windows 8 has been substantial— from new devices to strong app growth to key enhancements to the OS and apps. We’ve learned from customers on how they are using the product and have received a lot of feedback. We’ve delivered hundreds of updates to the product and to apps. We’re just getting started, and the potential ahead is tremendous.

Windows 8.1 will advance the bold vision set forward with Windows 8 to deliver the next generation of PCs, tablets, and a range of industry devices, and the experiences customers — both consumers and businesses alike — need and will just expect moving forward. It’s Windows 8 even better. Not only will Windows 8.1 respond to customer feedback, but it will add new features and functionality that advance the touch experience and mobile computing’s potential. Windows 8.1 will deliver improvements and enhancements in key areas like personalization, search, the built-in apps, Windows Store experience, and cloud connectivity. Windows 8.1 will also include big bets for business in areas such as management and security – we’ll have more to say on these next week at TechEd North America. Today, I am happy to share a “first look” at Windows 8.1 and outline some of the improvements, enhancements and changes customers will see.

Personalization:

In Windows 8.1, you’ll be able to do more to personalize the experience on your device. As people started using Windows 8, we found that people were using their Lock screens to show pictures of their families. So in Windows 8.1, you can turn your PC or tablet into a picture frame by making your Lock screen a slide show of your pictures – either locally on the device or photos from the cloud in SkyDrive. We also added the ability to take pictures with the built-in camera right from the Lock screen without having to log in.



Windows 8.1 offers more colors and backgrounds for the Start screen – including ones with motion.



You can even choose your desktop background as your Start screen background, creating a greater sense of unity and familiarity. And the Start screen in Windows 8.1 features a variety of tile sizes including a new large and new small tile, so you can organize your Start screen exactly the way you want it. It’s also even easier to name groups and rearrange tiles. You can now select multiple apps all at once, resize them, uninstall them, or rearrange them. We also found people were accidentally moving tiles on their Start screen so in Windows 8.1, you press and hold (or right click) to move things around.

You can view all apps just by swiping from the bottom to view all apps, and we’ve added the ability to filter your apps by name, date installed, most used, or by category. You want the Start screen to be about all the things you love. So when you install a new app from the Windows Store, we no longer put that app on your Start screen. Instead, you’ll find these apps under apps view as mentioned above and marked as “new” where you can choose to pin the apps you want to your Start screen.

Search:

In Windows 8.1, the Search charm will provide global search results powered by Bing in a rich, simple-to-read, aggregated view of many content sources (the web, apps, files, SkyDrive, actions you can take) to provide the best “answer” for your query. We think this will really change the way you interact with the Web and with windows making it quicker and easier to get things done. It is the modern version of the command line!



Quick actions include things you would want to do like play a song or video. Results from local files, apps, and settings are easily accessed in the same convenient view by scrolling to the left.

Apps and Windows Store:

We will be improving all our built in apps that come with Windows 8 for Windows 8.1. For example, the Photos app now has some new editing features that lets you quickly edit or adjust photos when you view them in the Photos app or open them from other places like the Mail, SkyDrive, and Camera apps. And our Music app has been completely redesigned to help pick and play music from your collection. We plan to talk more about updates to the built in apps in Windows 8.1 and some brand new apps we will be introducing in a future blog post.

We’re also making improvements for using multiple apps at once in Windows 8.1.



Windows 8.1 brings variable, continuous size of snap views. You will have more ways to see multiple apps on the screen at the same time. You can resize apps to any size you want, share the screen between two apps, or have up to four apps on screen. If you have multiple displays connected, you can have different Windows Store apps running on all the displays at the same time and the Start Screen can stay open on one monitor. This makes multi-tasking even easier. Also in Windows 8.1, you can have multiple windows of the same app snapped together – such as two Internet Explorer windows.

The improved Windows Store in Windows 8.1 is designed to show more info than in Windows 8 with detailed lists of top free apps, new releases, and picks for you on the homepage. The app listing is more descriptive and informative and includes an area for related apps to help with app discovery. Categories are listed with other app commands such as links to your apps and your account information. App updates install automatically in the background as well as they come through the Store. And search is available in the upper right hand corner for finding the apps you want.

Cloud Connectivity:

In Windows 8.1 your files can be saved directly to SkyDrive, so you can always have your files with you.



The new SkyDrive app gives you access to your files that are on your device or in the cloud, and files are accessible even when offline.

Also, when you log on to your Windows 8.1 device with your Microsoft account (Outlook.com by default), your device magically becomes personalized with your settings and apps, making switching or setting up a new device really easy.

PC Settings:

The updated PC Settings in Windows 8.1 gives you access to all your settings on your device without having to go to the Control Panel on the desktop. You can do things like change your display resolution, set your power options, see the make and model of your PC, change the product key, let you run Windows Update, and even join a domain – all from PC Settings. You can even manage SkyDrive from PC Settings as well and see how much available storage you have (and buy more if needed).

Internet Explorer:

Web browsing continues to be one of the most popular activities on any device. That’s why with Windows 8.1, you also get Internet Explorer 11 (IE11). IE11 builds on the advancements in IE10 and is the only browser that is built for touch. IE11 will offer even better touch performance, faster page load times and several other new features we think you will enjoy. For example, you can now adjust the appearance of modern IE11 to always show the address bar and you can have as many open tabs as you like. And you can access your open tabs in sync across your other Windows 8.1 devices.

Better Mouse and Keyboard Options

PCs today are evolving for a world of mobile computing where people interact with their devices through touch, and we designed Windows 8 for this. But we also recognize there are many non-touch devices in use today – especially in the commercial setting. As such we’ve focused on a number of improvements to ensure easier navigation for people using a mouse and keyboard.

We’ve improved the way you navigate to Start with the mouse by changing the Start “tip” to be the familiar Windows logo. The new tip appears anytime you move the mouse to the bottom left corner of the screen, and is always visible on the taskbar when on the desktop. There are also options to change what the corners do, and options to boot into alternate screens. For example, if you prefer to see the Apps view versus all the tiles, you can choose to have the Start screen go directly to Apps view.

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These are just some of the updates coming in Windows 8.1. We’ll be blogging more about these and other changes in the coming weeks. As you’ve heard us talk about before, Windows 8.1 will be available later this year as a free update for consumers to Windows 8 through the Windows Store the same way customers get app updates today.

Beginning June 26th, and timed with the start of Build, our developer conference, you will be able to check out these improvements for yourself with a preview of Windows 8.1 that will be released. At Build, we’ll also be sharing more about Windows Embedded, which will be updated in the same timeframe as Windows 8.1. We’re aligning the platforms even more to bring Windows to form factors of all types, including not only tablets and PCs, but also the growing category of industry devices such as ATMs, point of service (POS) terminals, and kiosks.

Windows 8 has been a bold, necessary move towards mobility for the PC industry – pushing ourselves and our industry ahead with a touch-first approach that is redefining the PC as we know it, while offering the best of all worlds across any device at any time. Our commitment to that vision – and to always improving - remains the same as we stay the course of the evolution of Windows with Windows 8.1. We’ve been watching, we’ve been listening; Windows 8.1 will continue to build on what you love bringing the latest advancements in hardware, apps, cloud services and the OS to enable a unique experience in everything you do.

More to come. Thanks for reading.

Antoine Leblond,
Corporate Vice President, Windows Program Management

A How-To for new Windows 8 Users

I try not to criticize much in my posts here, the closest it comes relates to the adoption of the Windows 8 software.  I would have thought that after all of the amazing technological advances we've had in the past 13 years, that people could embrace change, and understand that things will have to move forward.  Not everyone is a multi-billion dollar bank who wants to remain on XP (and will pay millions of dollars to do so every technical instance after the 2014 support end date), and you're going to have to use Windows 8 eventually.

That's the average user...I"m not talking about y'all who are running Linux and coding your own stuff...more power to you, but in actuality, you amount to a very tiny portion of the population.  XP overran it's course in time, and with the under-adoption of Vista, it made it harder for people to adopt Win 7 (which is probably one of the better things Microsoft has made in 20 years)...and now people are 2-3 generations behind on Operating systems.   I'm also not talking about moving EVERYTHING over to Win 8.  For businesses, MS allows licensing holders to downgrade to Win 7 if you're not comfortable with 8...but you NEED to do that soon.

Now, for those of you who have jumped to 8 and you're now suffering the "user backlash" of queries like, "Where's the start button?"  "I can't find my files" "Internet Explorer is weird looking" or my favorite "My desktop twitches all day, why is it alive?"...Here's a pdf that explains how to use Windows 8 without too much difficulty.

Personally, I find it sad that any user doesn't have enough curiosity or basic know-how to investigate how something new works.  Send this out to those who are whinging about the change to Win 8 or who are having difficulty.

See?  Here's me, helping you with something free.  Who says I have to sell stuff all the time? :)

PCM Webinar series

Howdy everyone!  I've got a list of webinars that PCM is setting up for our clients and potential clients in the coming weeks.  One thing we've been clear on for quite awhile now is that we are here to help you plan and prepare for whatever comes your way...we just have to know what you know. :)  Take a look and sign up...most of these have chances to win things like Tablets in them...don't miss those! :)

Apr 18, 2013  10:00 am

Protecting data and networks in an ever-evolving threat landscape

Fred Meek, Dell SonicWALL Systems Engineer

Register

Apr 18, 2013  10:00 am

Windows 8: Modern Tools for Business

Bret Rohloff, Microsoft

Register

Apr 24, 2013  10:00 am

Spend less time managing IT and more time running your business with HP ProLiant Gen8 Servers

Josh Koelewyn, HP ISS Americas Product Manager

Register

April 30th, 2013 - Register

CA ARCserve - now supporting...

What?  I'm not going to give it all away in the subject line!  What kind of expository writer do you think I am?  I cut my teeth in fiction and dagnabbit, I'm going to make this a little more dramatic if I can! :)

Ok you're still reading, that's good. :)

So now CA ARCserve now supports MS Windows Server 2012 and Windows 8!  See...that was worth the hyperbole and wait.  CA ARCserve r16.5 expands virtual server data protection & disaster recovery capabilities.  Now with Windows 8 and MS Server 2012 under their belt, combined with other enahncements across their file backup, image backup, replication and high availability products, they have an even stronger award-winning product to protect your data.

Enough of the fluff right?  Basically what I find great about ARCserve is its ability to reduce system downtime...because while being able to restore is great, it's that frustratingly large restore window that kills you.  Their remote virtual standby is great as well...which for lack of a time to explain it all, creates remote policies that has recovery points from either D2D or Host Based VM Backup, which can automatically be replicated across a WAN or LAN and then converted into virtual machines within Hyper-V or VMware hypervisors.

Alright...that was a mouthful.  But if you're interested, let's have a chat about it! :)

 

 

 

The Elitepad is about to Land.

Alright folks...you saw my earlier post about the HP Elitepad 900 and how it is just about to launch.  Rather than talk at length again, here's a video you likely haven't seen that will detail it for you...

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRTOg3b1NZQ?list=PLEB6A9D285B9C0EDB&w=560&h=315]

No it isn't the iPad...they're similar but far different.  The Elitepad 900 was made for businesses.  (Unless you really have to look at your Excel spreadsheets in HD.)  This is designed to work with your existing Windows infrastructure.  (No jury rigging here!)  The Elitepad 900 will work right out of the box with what you need it to do.  Add the Battery Jacket and battery...and you've got a tablet running with 24 hours of battery life.  Add the keyboard dock and you now have a desktop replacement as well.  It's worth looking at.

Right from the PCM website...click the graphic to go there and look.  Interested?  Want to know what pricing is like?  Contact us. :)

HP's Elitepad 900 is almost here!

I think most of you know my history with HP and their Touchpad.  I was an early adopter and loved the merits of that device and WebOS.  It looked to be a good alternative to the iPad, and if marketed/priced right it could have been a great enterprise tool.  However, with the status of executive management at HP in shambles, they bumbled the whole thing, and ended up falling flat on their faces.  A lesser company would have given up and stayed out of that market...or worse, run themselves into the ground with a product that wasn't going to work.  HP let WebOS die a very sad death in the OpenSource internet zone...and have been working on the ElitePad ever since.

Now we're faced with this bad boy, that can take on the enterprise space of IT, and do in the corporate world what the iPad cannot.  Be a native.  What I mean is that it's ready to work with the systems you already have, because let's face it, a VERY LARGE % of businesses do not have an Apple infrastructure.  Those who are using iPads still have to cobble together a solution from companies like Airwatch or MobileIron or Meraki, in order to get the Apple products to play nicely in their space.

But what if you didn't have to do that?

Take a look at the site here.  I had the chance last week to handle the Elitepad 900 and was thoroughly pleased with it.  As many of you know I own a Nexus 7 tablet, and love that too...but if given the chance, I'd give it up for the Elitepad 900.  Why?  Let's count off the awesome features:

• Windows 8 Pro


• 1.8GHz Dual core Atom


• 1.5 lbs / 9.2mm in depth


• 1280x800 / 10.1" gorilla glass


• Micros HCSD card slot


• 8mp rear facing camera/1080p hd front camera


• Built in security features including Computrace


• A bevy of accessories including the awesome Expansion Jacket (with a battery add on that can increase battery life to 24 hours), and the docking station.

Yes, yes I know this looks all well and good.  The Expansion jacket adds USB ports, an HDMI port, and and MMC port...add the battery portion and BLAMMO, this tablet becomes ultra useful in the corporate environment.  Add the display dock & keyboard...and you've got a real mobile desktop setup.

While not cheaper than the iPad on release...come Feb 7 when these are in stock, there will likely be plenty of deals floating around.  Keep your eyes locked here for more details!

Thank you HP for getting your act together and pushing out a product that looks to be extremely good for Enterprise and Business. :)

(click the link for "the iPad"...I thought that was funny)

 

Windows 8 for Dummies...

Not that any of you are...but these books are truly helpful, and if you've used them, you know.

While I disagree with fellow blogger Rick Broida over on CNet, in that Windows 8 is a good OS, and has a lot of potential, he has a short valid article on this free book being offered by the folks at Dell.  (IF you can get past the snark that makes my irritations with Apple's shenanigans look like a mosquito bite.)

Give Dell some nuggets of marketing info and get the free book.  Totally worth it. :)

 

Windows 8 - 4 Million already?

Wow.  I know that I'm always big on new things, and Windows 8 is the newest kid on the block...but 4 million upgrades in as many days?  That boggles the mind.  Over on ArsTechnica, they mentioned quite a bit about this...but from my experience in the industry, this is a much faster adoption than Windows 7.

You can say that it might be because the price point is right.  For $40 you can get Windows Pro, and that's a steal in itself already.  If you just recently bought a computer (since June) you can get a Windows 8 upgrade for just $15!  No the product isn't perfect, but then is Windows ever perfect???  My experience has been wonderful with it (despite having to restore my computer to pre-win8-candidate install and losing all of my music...thank you iTunes Match for saving my ass) , and seeing it run on my 4 year old C2D laptop quite well is a joy.  (Many of you don't know I did get Windows 7 to run on an ancient IBM T21 laptop with only 512mb of ram...so Microsoft is thinking about people with older computers now.)

So if you haven't looked at it...do so.  Install it on your wife's/husband's computer...see how they react to it.  After the day long learning curve, it's been smooth sailing ever since.

What are you doing with Windows 8? :)

More on Windows 8...

Ok folks, the Deluge of Windows 8 is about hit...the dam is cracking and once it goes, the whole town will be wiped out!   Sounds like a disaster movie right?  Nope, it's the first list of the Windows 8 products!

I was cruising my Feedly feed today while waiting for a client to answer the phone and came across this gem from Dan Ackerman at C/Net.  Links to all of the new hardware shipping out on October 26th (Win 8 release date for those who missed my prior article) show off how great Windows 8 looks and will work.

Some of my favorites are:

HP Envy Spectre Touchsmart XT    Lenovo IteaTab Lynx   Samsung Ativ Smart PC

 

Take a look and see! :)  For those of you who want into Windows 8 now, you can buy the volume licensing, but the retail boxes and units will be available October 26.

Windows 8...on your plate soon!

A lot of you know that I've been using Windows 8 since it became available to test.  Much like Windows 7, it's been a pleasure testing it, and I can't wait to have the actual version installed.  Being who I am here, I get a lot of questions about "when is it coming out?"  a heck of alot.  So, thanks to the folks at CNet, here's a schedule of the Windows 8 release:

October 12 - Microsoft starts taking Pre-Orders for the retail version of Windows 8 Pro, and for PCs with it.

October 21 - Windows 8 phones, and the Samsung & Asus tablets become available for pre-order.

October 25 - Windows 8 Launch event in NYC.

October 26 - Officially available to consumers.  The Microsoft Surface tablet is also available starting on this date.  Preorder units will arrive as wel.

October 29 - Launch event for Microsoft Windows Phone 8 in San Francisco.

Come on now...who wants a Surface? :)

Windows 8 RTM to the head...

Yup...here it is...

Windows 8 has been released to manufacturing.  You can see the official blog post here, and more on RTM here.  It looks like distributors and VARs will be getting the OEM versions of these around August 16, with September 1 being the licensing release date to those without Software Assurance.

Exciting stuff.  Hopefully y'all were able to test the product like I have been.   Now it's time to get this stuff and start testing it with your current setup.  If you're using touchscreens, how about an operating system that is designed to work with them AND be a real OS?  The ARM version for tablets is going to be a killer, and for those of us saddled with using Android on our old HP Touchpads, this should be a godsend.

Enjoy your weekend!   I know I'll be enjoying mine! :)

Where oh where has my Start menu gone...

Oh where oh where can it be, Windows 8?

Talk about moving someone's cheese right?  After all of these years of tapping the start button to find thing and launch programs, in Windows 8...it's gone.  POOF.  Nada.  Zilch.  While this doesn't bother me like it does some people who can't accept change at all...and seriously it's starting to sound like someone needs to let the red swingline stapler go.

Is the learning curve a little bit higher than normal on Windows 8?  Yes.  Is it higher than OSX from Apple?  Heck no, it's still Windows for the same folks who always use it.  Heck, like I said before, if you have multiple screens, it's a great piece of software already...and will likely continue to be when it releases.

There's a good article over at Computerworld.com about what's good and bad about Windows 8.  Although throughout my running of Windows 8, I've had ZERO issues at all (knock on wood), and none of the ones he describes.  Mashable.com has an even more in-depth review.   It really comes down to the machine you're running it on...and if you're up to date (within the past year), it'll be a smokin' experience.

Tell me I'm right or I'm wrong.  I want to hear it from all of you.

Best wishes for Monday!

Windows 8....pretty cool

I always enjoy when a bit of work can invade my weekend in a good way.  It's usually pretty rare, from meeting a client at Disneyland to hang out for a bit...to friends the world over treating me like I'm the Sherlock of computers & information technology.  (Really I'm not. :) )    I say this, because this weekend I took the plunge and installed the release copy of Windows 8 on my primary PC at home.

Some of you are now screaming, "MIKE!?!!?  Not on your primary PC!"   I know, I know...but I had a gut feeling, and that feeling as it turns out wasn't wrong at all.  Since I had all of Saturday morning to myself, I did the install and setup with ease...and went to town.  Now, maybe because I'm a Windows Phone user, and an Xbox 360 player, Windows 8 came naturally, but it made for a fun weekend experience on my PC.

The apps are nice and simple, keeping up with the live tiles format of Windows Phone and Xbox's Metro setup.  There's plenty to work with currently, and I expect a lot more to come at launch.  The feel reminds me of how Chrome currently is, and I expect a lot of apps will quickly follow the release.  On a note for businesses, this format is actually pretty easy to use for any Windows user...so if you want to bring it into your office, the transition might not be as bad as you think.

Just so you know, Windows 8 doesn't replace Windows 7...it's more like it's an added layer.  You control the Metro Start page with the Windows key, and with two screens, it's even easier to manage.  (The fact that the taskbar is on both screens is fantastic!)  The only confusing part was how to exit an application, but because Windows 8 operates on a different path than we're used to, that's why it was confusing at the outset.  Once an app goes dormant, by switching out to the start screen, the Task Manager "freezes" the app, and closes it after a short time.

I think this is worth your time to check out.  So if you have an extra PC lying around with at least a gig processor and 1gb ram...go for it and check it out.  Me, I'm STILL waiting for a beta or release for Windows RT, so I can get this on my HP Touchpad! :)

Make it a great week!

 

Windows 8 Preview May Be TODAY!

Howdy folks!  Have to credit Dragontech Team Member Dwight Tabangcura, who spotted this late last night from our friends over at Neowin's page.  Like their article hints at, the Windows Hardware & Driver Development blog had a now deleted post that stated the Windows 8 preview was releasing today.

While that's all conjecture now, and they may have yanked it because it wasn't true...it's something to keep your eye out for.  Windows 8 is going to be useful in many ways...personally I'm waiting on the ARM version so I can reconfigure my HP Touchpad with it.  (I love webOS, it's just sad how HP's dropped it like a hot potato.)

Keep your eyes peeled loyal readers...if you see a chance to get in on it, let me know.  (It's the end of the month and we're all jamming the phones to make sure no stone goes unturned with our clients.)

Make it a great Thursday! :)

It's the End of Windows As We Know It...

...and I feel fine.

We all should feel fine actually, because the launch of Windows 8 is just around the corner this year.  "But Herr Leader," you ask, "Windows 7 was just released?  Why is Microsoft trying to hurt our brains?"   It's easy Skippy, they're not.  Windows 8 isn't going to be replacing Windows 7 as a desktop/laptop OS.  It will however be replacing them on Tablets and making Windows Phone 7.5 look even better.  This article over at CNN reminded me that I needed to talk about it with y'all. :)

For those of you who haven't seen, there is a beta for Windows 8 available to test, and all reports come across well.  I've yet to pull this and set it up myself (as my tablet is an ARM tablet and I can't get it on there yet), but as an Xbox user and Windows Phone adopter, I'm already quite used to it.  Knowing Microsoft, they're not looking to replace Windows 7 yet either, because they've been driving so hard to get it adopted by businesses...as well it should be, it's probably the best OS they've come up with in a very long time.

Rather than force an OS to conform to two distinct platforms (touch units and traditional units are NOT the same thing), and having a crappy experience on one or the other, they've sidestepped that nightmare.  This sidestep allows MS to put out for both platforms as it perfects both.  This, in my opinion, will then lead to Windows 9...a hybridization of both Windows 7 & 8...but that's several years off.  Here's a link to a great article at Forrester about Windows 8 and adoption.  It's nice to know my thoughts are on the level with the guys who get paid to think about these kinds of things. :)

If you get a chance, grab a copy of the beta and test it out.  I think that most folks will enjoy it...and it's good to see Microsoft taking a leap forward instead of playing "Three Stooges" with the rest of the companies in the IT Space.

Have a great weekend!