PowerShell – Video, presentation and script downloads from the PowerShell Summit 2013 North America

The PowerShell Summit took place in North America in April and many of the prominent PowerShell people were there. And from what I read there were a lot of great presentations.

The PowerShell Summit 2013 North America conference schedule can be found here. Thanks to Don Jones and PowerShell.org (most of) these sessions are available for download: http://powershell.org/wp/2013/04/22/summit-downloads/

Videos are available here:
http://powershell.org/wp/2013/05/07/powershell-summit-videos/

So even if you weren’t able to attend, you can still learn from their presentations. Or if you did attend, you can review them again.

 

Microsoft – Recordings for “Using Microsoft VDI to Enable New Workstyles Jump Start” available on MVA

The recordings for “Using Microsoft VDI to Enable New Workstyles Jump Start” are available now on Microsoft Virtual Academy (MVA).

These Jump Starts are a great way to quickly get up-to-date about a subject. Also there’s a great team of people working behind the scenes to answer questions and provide more detailed resources. Other attendees often also share their experiences and provide valuable insights. So be sure to check out the Q&A log as well.

 

Microsoft – Free Windows Azure for IT Professionals Jump Start

Microsoft Virtual Academy (MVA) is hosting the “Windows Azure for IT Professionals Jump Start” at May 16th. Information and registration is available on the website: https://www.microsoftvirtualacademy.com/liveevents/Windows-Azure-for-IT-Professionals?CR_CC=200206715

I’ve attended a couple of Jump Starts and I think it’s a great way to quickly get up-to-date about a subject. Also there’s a great team of people working behind the scenes to answer questions and provide more detailed resources. Other attendees often also share their experiences and provide valuable insights.

Also it’s only been a couple of weeks since Windows Azure IaaS is live in production backed by an enterprise SLA, supported by Microsoft Support, and ready for your production applications. Therefore it is a great time to start learning more about it.

I hope to see you there.

 

2nd Dutch PowerShell UserGroup DuPSUG meeting on the 6th of June in Hilversum

After the great first Dutch PowerShell UserGroup (DuPSUG) meeting last November, the 2nd meeting will be held on the 6th of June in Hilversum at InterAccess. At http://www.dupsug.com you can find more information about the event including a schedule and a registration form.

I really liked the previous meeting, so I’m going to attend this time as well. I hope to see you there.

PS: The number of attendees is limited, so don’t wait too long.

 

Office 365 – Fix for SharePoint message “call us overprotective, but we need to verify your account before opening this document”

In yesterday’s blog post I mentioned that I was looking forward to being upgraded to the new Office 365 in the next 4 weeks.

I did encounter an issue however that I was not able to open files on SharePoint using the desktop version of Office 2013. I kept on getting the message: “call us overprotective, but we need to verify your account before opening this document”. This never succeeded and I couldn’t modify my file using Office 2013. The Office Web App version was working fine though.

After googling around a bit, I found out that this was a common issue for people that are planned to be migrated (pre-upgrade). The solution/workaround for this issue is described here:
Office 365 pre-upgrade users cannot open or synchronize SharePoint files after the Office 2013: March 12, 2013 update is installed

 

Office 365 – Full Office Web Apps have been added to my E1 account for free

Back in February I posted that as part of the new Office 365 service, changes would be made to the Office 365 plans.

These changes are in effect right now. In short this means that the E1 and K1 plans that previously were only able to read with the Web Apps have gotten the full Office Web Apps (view, edit, create). This replaces the old E2 and K2. So basically:

• Old E1/K1 have gotten E2/K2 functionality at the same low cost.
• Old E2/K2 customers will keep the same features, but at a lower cost (E1/K1).
• Old E2/K2 will be replaced by E1/K1 since they will then have the same functionality.

The new situation has become like this:

New Office 365 Enterprise Plans overview

PS: I love the Office 365 service and I’m looking forward to the new Office 365 features that will be added when Office 365 will start using the Office 2013 (Wave 15) versions of SharePoint, Outlook, Lync, Office Web Apps. I’ve gotten a mail that I’m planned to be upgraded within the next 4 weeks, so more about that soon. I’m especially curious if my SharePoint customizations will continue to work.

 

Microsoft – Surface Pro will be available before end of May in The Netherlands and many other countries

By the end of June, the Surface RT will be available in 29 countries and the Surface pro will be available in 25 countries.

It’s a pity we often have to wait for new products like the Surface Pro, but at least it’s coming to the Netherlands. And the waiting will also be over pretty soon, since it will be available before the end of May.

Personally I’m not a big fan of Windows RT, but I really love Windows 8 tablets. Since I’ve gotten my Windows 8 tablet, I have been using it as my main device. And apparently I’m not the only one as you can read in this great article:
“Two months with the Surface Pro and how it replaced my notebook”.

If you’re considering a tablet and are not yet sure if a Windows RT, Windows 8, Android or Apple tablet best meets your needs, read the comparison from one my previous blog posts.

 

Microsoft – Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V 3.0 best practices checklist

Roger Osborne has posted a great article with a Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V best practices checklist.

I especially like the fact that it’s not just a checklist, but it also explains what it does and why it is considered a best practice to do it this way (in specific situations).

Additionally you might also want to take a look at “Top 20 Hyper-V Performance Metrics You Should Care About” and System Center Advisor.

 

PowerShell – Book review of : Learn PowerShell Toolmaking in a month of lunches

At the end of February I published a review of “Learn Windows Powershell 3 in a month of lunches”. Even though it is a well written book from which I learned a couple of things, it did ‘t increase my productiviteit with PowerShell as much as I had wanted. This is probably due to the Windows PowerShell knowledge I already had.

I decided to read “Learn Windows PowerShell Toolmaking in a month of lunches” next and I have to say this was exactly what I needed … and more.

I think it really made my scripts more flexible and easier to maintain and manage. It was also great to see how easy it can be to create a GUI version of your PowerShell script. I will try to post some scripts and GUI examples to my blog soon so you can be the judge .

There were also some things that weren’t (yet) relevant to me, but it is good to be aware of them and being able to revisit them when necessary.

 

Windows 8 – Use Windows 8 apps when behind a proxy including the Windows 8 Store

In the past I’ve heard numerous people mention they couldn’t get the Windows 8 Store from behind a proxy on the corporate network. Many even thought it was a design flaw by Microsoft and that it wasn’t possible.

A colleague of mine Kuo Wei Lau informed me about this article that specifies how to configure the proxy for metro apps in Windows 8.

So it is possible to use Windows 8 apps from behind a proxy, but I have to admit that in my opinion the configuration is hidden in a not very obvious location. Nevertheless, it is possible

Apparently there are also other solutions and apparently there are also some issues to take into account. So you might want to take a look at these articles as well:

http://www.thewindowsclub.com/setup-proxy-metro-application-windows-8
http://drdebmath.blogspot.nl/2012/11/use-proxy-windows8-iitg.html
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2778122