The iPhone 5 is hardly the only game in town. Here are several business-oriented models that will meet even the most demanding executive's needs. Prices for these phones vary by contract and wireless carrier.--John Brandon
BlackBerry Z10
As you might expect, the Z10 is the hands-down winner when it comes to typing. The software keyboard is incredibly accurate and the keys are spaced just right. For business users, the Z10 brings peace of mind. BlackBerry Balance automatically secures your email so you can't copy from a work account to personal. And, company apps are protected and managed by your IT folks. Swiping works quite well: You can flick left and right to see open apps. The Hub provides quick access to incoming text messages. And, the phone is slim and business-black. The device uses a 1.5GHz processor, has 16GB of internal storage, and lasts 10 hours on a charge.
HTC8X
Don't count the Windows Phone 8 out quite yet. This speedy model, which runs on a 1.5GHz processor with 16GB of storage, might fit into a Microsoft-centric office better than an iPhone or Android model. For starters, you benefit from easier integration with Microsoft Office 2013 to save documents to the cloud and open them on the phone. Like the BlackBerry Z10, IT folks can wipe the phone of data and manage apps. The big win for larger companies: The 8X works out-of-the-box with SharePoint and can even auto-discover your existing server, which many companies use for collaboration.
Samsung Galaxy S4
There's some serious hype surrounding this successor to the Galaxy SIII, and for good reason. This Android model offers nifty consumer-oriented tricks like using both cameras (front and rear) at the same time and a sensor that can read gestures. But it's also outfitted with high-end business features. For starters, the KNOX service keeps business and personal apps split between two distinct views. You can also encrypt the phone to protect files. And here's a unique feature: One version of the S4 will have an octa-core (eight) processor running at 1.6GHz for blazing speed.
HTC One
Two HTC phones, both for business? Sure. The HTC 8X has Microsoft apps for easy integration. But the HTC One is a worthy Android model. For starters, it is an exceptional phone that's sleek, well-made, and super-crisp. The 1.7GHz processor is speedy enough to keep pace with just about any Android business app. The camera uses a new technology to produce sharp images that you can even edit right on the phone.
More details about Windows 8.1 will be announced soon, Brandon LeBlanc wrote in a follow-up post on Blogging Windows this morning, adding: “We will also be making a public preview of Windows 8.1 available starting on June 26, timed with the Build developer conference in San Francisco. The preview will be available for Windows 8 and Windows RT.”
Read more about Windows 8’s progress to date, and Microsoft’s goal of delivering continual updates to create a richer experience for Windows customers, over on Blogging Windows.
10 Windows 7 commands every administrator should know
1: System File Checker
Malicious software will often attempt to replace core system files
with modified versions in an effort to take control of the system. The
System File Checker can be used to verify the integrity of the Windows
system files. If any of the files are found to be missing or corrupt,
they will be replaced. You can run the System File Checker by using this
command:
sfc /scannow
2: File Signature Verification
One way to verify the integrity of a system is to make sure that all
the system files are digitally signed. You can accomplish this with the
File Signature Verification tool. This tool is launched from the command
line but uses a GUI interface. It will tell you which system files are
signed and which aren’t. As a rule, all the system files should be
digitally signed, although some hardware vendors don’t sign driver
files. The command used to launch the File Signature Verification tool
is:
sigverif
3: Driverquery
Incorrect device drivers can lead to any number of system problems.
If you want to see which drivers are installed on a Windows 7 system,
you can do so by running the driverquery tool. This simple command-line
tool provides information about each driver that is being used. The
command is:
driverquery
If you need a bit more information, you can append the -v switch.
Another option is to append the -si switch, which causes the tool to
display signature information for the drivers. Here’s how they look:
driverquery -v
driverquery -si
4: Nslookup
The nslookup tool can help you to verify that DNS name resolution is
working correctly. When you run nslookup against a host name, the tool
will show you how the name was resolved, as well as which DNS server was
used during the lookup. This tool can be extremely helpful when
troubleshooting problems related to legacy DNS records that still exist
but that are no longer correct.
To use this tool, just enter the nslookup command, followed by the name of the host you want to resolve. For example:
Ping is probably the simplest of all diagnostic commands. It’s used
to verify basic TCP/IP connectivity to a network host. To use it, simply
enter the command, followed by the name or IP address of the host you
want to test. For example:
ping 192.168.1.1
Keep in mind that this command will work only if Internet Control
Message Protocol (ICMP) traffic is allowed to pass between the two
machines. If at any point a firewall is blocking ICMP traffic, the ping
will fail.
6: Pathping
Ping does a good job of telling you whether two machines can
communicate with one another over TCP/IP, but if a ping does fail, you
won’t receive any information regarding the nature of the failure. This
is where the pathping utility comes in.
Pathping is designed for environments in which one or more routers
exist between hosts. It sends a series of packets to each router that’s
in the path to the destination host in an effort to determine whether
the router is performing slowly or dropping packets. At its simplest,
the syntax for pathping is identical to that of the ping command
(although there are some optional switches you can use). The command
looks like this:
pathping 192.168.1.1
7: Ipconfig
The ipconfig command is used to view or modify a computer’s IP
addresses. For example, if you wanted to view a Windows 7 system’s full
IP configuration, you could use the following command:
ipconfig /all
Assuming that the system has acquired its IP address from a DHCP
server, you can use the ipconfig command to release and then renew the
IP address. Doing so involves using the following commands:
ipconfig /release
ipconfig /renew
Another handy thing you can do with ipconfig is flush the DNS
resolver cache. This can be helpful when a system is resolving DNS
addresses incorrectly. You can flush the DNS cache by using this
command:
ipconfig /flushdns
8: Repair-bde
If a drive that is encrypted with BitLocker has problems, you can
sometimes recover the data using a utility called repair-bde. To use
this command, you will need a destination drive to which the recovered
data can be written, as well as your BitLocker recovery key or recovery
password. The basic syntax for this command is:
repair-bde -rk | rp
You must specify the source drive, the destination drive, and either
the rk (recovery key) or the rp (recovery password) switch, along with
the path to the recovery key or the recovery password. Here are two
examples of how to use this utility:
The tasklist command is designed to provide information about the
tasks that are running on a Windows 7 system. At its most basic, you can
enter the following command:
tasklist
The tasklist command has numerous optional switches, but there are a
couple I want to mention. One is the -m switch, which causes tasklist to
display all the DLL modules associated with a task. The other is the
-svc switch, which lists the services that support each task. Here’s how
they look:
tasklist -m
tasklist -svc
10: Taskkill
The taskkill command terminates a task, either by name (which is referred to as the image name)
or by process ID. The syntax for this command is simple. You must
follow the taskkill command with -pid (process ID) or -im (image name)
and the name or process ID of the task that you want to terminate. Here
are two examples of how this command works:
taskkill -pid 4104
taskkill -im iexplore.exe
Useful Commands for Windows Administration
How many users are logged on/connected to a server?
Sometimes we may need to know how many users are logged on to a
(file) server, like maybe when there is a performance degradation.
At the server's console itself, with native commands only:
The first name in the list usually is the logged on user (try playing with the NET NAME command to learn more about the names displayed by NBTSTAT).
This is the fastest way to find the logged on user name, and the results that you do get are correct, but NBTSTAT won't always return a user name, even when a user is logged on.
Using WMIC (Windows XP Professional and later):
WMIC /Node:remotecomputer ComputerSystem Get UserName
This is arguably the most reliable (native) command to find out who is logged on.
With the help of SysInternals' PSTools:
FOR /F %%A IN ('REG Query \\remotecomputer\HKU ˆ| FINDSTR /R /B /C:"HKEY_USERS\\S-1-5-[0-9][0-9]-[0-9-]*$"') DO (
FOR /F "tokens=3 delims=\" %%B IN ('REG Query "\\remotecomputer\%%A\Volatile Environment"') DO (
SET LoggedinUser=%%B
)
)
or for Windows 7:
FOR /F %%A IN ('REG Query \\remotecomputer\HKU /K /F "S-1-5-21-" ˆ| FINDSTR /R /B /C:"HKEY_USERS\\S-1-5-[0-9][0-9]-[0-9-]*$"') DO (') DO (
FOR /F "tokens=2*" %%B IN ('REG Query "\\remotecomputer\%%~A\Volatile Environment" /V "UserName" ˆ| FIND /V ":"') DO (
SET LoggedinUser=%%C
)
)
NETSH and WMIC are for XP or later, and are the most reliable of all commands shown here. WMIC requires WMI enabled remote computers and Windows XP on the administrator's computer; NETSH requires Windows XP on the local and remote computers. PSLOGGEDON is a more accurate solution than NBTSTAT, but it will return the last logged on user if no one is currently logged on.
The NET and NBTSTAT commands show more or less identical results, but the NBTSTAT command is much faster.
The REG command is accurate, but may need to be modified depending on the version used.
More information on REG versions can be found on my REG Query page.
For Windows NT 4 and 2000: use NBTSTAT (fast, but it won't always return the user name!), and only switch to REG if NBTSTAT doesn't return a user name (modify the REG command for Windows NT 4).
For Windows XP and later: if you want to search lots of computers for logged on users, I recommend you try NBTSTAT first (fast, but it won't always return the user name!), and only switch to NETSH, REG or WMIC (accurate) if NBTSTAT doesn't return a user name.
Credits: Jiří Janyška (WMIC command) and Matthew W. Helton (NETSH command).
My collegues often forget to mention their logon account name when
calling the helpdesk, and the helpdesk doesn't always ask either.
I suppose they expect me to know all 1500+ accounts by heart.
With (native) Windows Server 2003 commands only:
DSQUERY USER -name *lastname* | DSGET USER -samid -display
Note:
Windows Server 2003's
"DSTools"
will work fine in Windows 2000 and XP too, when copied.
Keep in mind, however, that some Windows Server 2003 Active
Directory functionality is not available in Windows 2000
Active Directories.
DSQUERY USER -samid *loginname* | DSGET USER -samid -display
Note:
The NET command may seem more universal, because it requires neither
Active Directory nor Windows Server 2003 commands, but it is
language dependent!
For non-English Windows you may need to modify FIND's search
string.
In Windows NT 4 and later, users usually are members of global groups.
These global groups in turn are members of (domain) local groups.
Access permissions are given to (domain) local groups.
To check if a user has access to a resource, we need to check group membership
recursively.
With (native) Windows Server 2003 commands:
DSQUERY USER -samid loginname | DSGET USER -memberof -expand
What permissions does a user have on this directory?
One could use the previous command to check what
permissions a user has on a certain directory.
However, sometimes SHOWACLS from the
Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit Tools is a better alternative:
DSQUERY USER -samid loginname | DSMOD USER -pwd newpassword
Note:
To prevent the new password from being displayed on
screen replace it with an asterisk (*); you will then
be prompted (twice) to type the new password "blindly".
NETDOM is part of the support tools found in the
\SUPPORT directory of the Windows 2000
installation CDROM.
With (native) Windows Server 2003 commands (Active Directory only):
DSQUERY Server
or, if you prefer host names only (tip by Jim Christian Flatin):
"I need an up-to-date list of disk space usage for all servers, on my desk in 5 minutes"
Sounds familiar?
With (native) Windows XP Professional or Windows Server 2003 commands:
FOR /F %%A IN (servers.txt) DO (
WMIC /Node:%%A LogicalDisk Where DriveType="3" Get DeviceID,FileSystem,FreeSpace,Size /Format:csv | MORE /E +2 >> SRVSPACE.CSV
)
The only prerequisites are:
SRVSPACE.CSV should not exist or be empty,
a list of server names in a file named SERVERS.TXT, one server name on each line,
and WMIC.EXE, which is native in Windows XP Professional and later.
The CSV file format is ServerName,DeviceID,FileSystem,FreeSpace,Size
(one line for each harddisk partition on each server).
If you have a strict server naming convention, SERVERS.TXT itself can
be generated with the NET command:
FOR /F "delims=\ " %%A IN ('NET VIEW ^| FINDSTR /R /B /C:"\\\\SRV\-"') DO (>>SERVERS.TXT ECHO.%%A)
Notes:
(1)
assuming server names start with "SRV-"; modify to match your own naming convention.
(2)
delims is a backslash, followed by a tab and a space.
FOR /F "delims=[]" %%A IN ('NET LOCALGROUP Administrators ˆ| FIND /N "----"') DO SET HeaderLines=%%A
FOR /F "tokens=*" %%A IN ('NET LOCALGROUP Administrators') DO SET FooterLine=%%A
NET LOCALGROUP Administrators | MORE /E +%HeaderLines% | FIND /V "%FooterLine%"
DHCPLOC.EXE is native in Windows Server 2003, and will run in Windows XP if copied/installed.
I didn't test this in Windows Server 2003 yet, but in Windows XP you need to press "d" to start the discovery, or "q" to quit.
appwiz.cpl - Programs and Features (Formerly Known as "Add or Remove Programs")
appwiz.cpl @,2 - Turn Windows Features On and Off (Add/Remove Windows Components pane)
arp - Displays and modifies the IP-to-Physical address translation tables used by address resolution protocol (ARP)
at - Schedule tasks either locally or remotely without using Scheduled Tasks
bootsect.exe - Updates the master boot code for hard disk partitions to switch between BOOTMGR and NTLDR
cacls - Change Access Control List (ACL) permissions on a directory, its subcontents, or files
calc - Calculator
chkdsk - Check/Fix the disk surface for physical errors or bad sectors
cipher - Displays or alters the encryption of directories [files] on NTFS partitions
cleanmgr.exe - Disk Cleanup
clip - Redirects output of command line tools to the Windows clipboard
cls - clear the command line screen
cmd /k - Run command with command extensions enabled
color - Sets the default console foreground and background colors in console
command.com - Default Operating System Shell
compmgmt.msc - Computer Management
control.exe /name Microsoft.NetworkAndSharingCenter - Network and Sharing Center
control keyboard - Keyboard Properties
control mouse(or main.cpl) - Mouse Properties
control sysdm.cpl,@0,3 - Advanced Tab of the System Properties dialog
control userpasswords2 - Opens the classic User Accounts dialog
desk.cpl - opens the display properties
devmgmt.msc - Device Manager
diskmgmt.msc - Disk Management
diskpart - Disk management from the command line
dsa.msc - Opens active directory users and computers
dsquery - Finds any objects in the directory according to criteria
dxdiag - DirectX Diagnostic Tool
eventvwr - Windows Event Log (Event Viewer)
explorer . - Open explorer with the current folder selected.
explorer /e, . - Open explorer, with folder tree, with current folder selected.
F7 - View command history
find - Searches for a text string in a file or files
findstr - Find a string in a file
firewall.cpl - Opens the Windows Firewall settings
fsmgmt.msc - Shared Folders
fsutil - Perform tasks related to FAT and NTFS file systems
ftp - Transfers files to and from a computer running an FTP server service
getmac - Shows the mac address(es) of your network adapter(s)
gpedit.msc - Group Policy Editor
gpresult - Displays the Resultant Set of Policy (RSoP) information for a target user and computer
httpcfg.exe - HTTP Configuration Utility
iisreset - To restart IIS
InetMgr.exe - Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager 7
InetMgr6.exe - Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager 6
intl.cpl - Regional and Language Options
ipconfig - Internet protocol configuration
lusrmgr.msc - Local Users and Groups Administrator
msconfig - System Configuration
notepad - Notepad? ;)
mmsys.cpl - Sound/Recording/Playback properties
mode - Configure system devices
more - Displays one screen of output at a time
mrt - Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool
mstsc.exe - Remote Desktop Connection
nbstat - displays protocol statistics and current TCP/IP connections using NBT
ncpa.cpl - Network Connections
netsh - Display or modify the network configuration of a computer that is currently running
netstat - Network Statistics
net statistics - Check computer up time
net stop - Stops a running service.
net use
- Connects a computer to or disconnects a computer from a shared
resource, displays information about computer connections, or mounts a
local share with different privileges (documentation)
odbcad32.exe - ODBC Data Source Administrator
pathping - A traceroute that collects detailed packet loss stats
perfmon - Opens Reliability and Performance Monitor
ping - Determine whether a remote computer is accessible over the network
powercfg.cpl - Power management control panel applet
qfecheck - Shows installed Hotfixes applied to the server/workstation.
quser - Display information about user sessions on a terminal server
qwinsta - See disconnected remote desktop sessions
reg.exe - Console Registry Tool for Windows
regedit - Registry Editor
rasdial - Connects to a VPN or a dialup network
robocopy - Backup/Restore/Copy large amounts of files reliably
rsop.msc - Resultant Set of Policy (shows the combined effect of all group policies active on the current system/login)
runas - Run specific tools and programs with different permissions than the user's current logon provides
sc - Manage anything you want to do with services.
schtasks - Enables an administrator to create, delete, query, change, run and end scheduled tasks on a local or remote system.
secpol.msc - Local Security Settings
services.msc - Services control panel
set - Displays, sets, or removes cmd.exe environment variables.
set DIRCMD - Preset dir parameter in cmd.exe
start - Starts a separate window to run a specified program or command
start. - opens the current directory in the Windows Explorer.
shutdown.exe - Shutdown or Reboot a local/remote machine
subst.exe - Associates a path with a drive letter, including local drives
systeminfo -Displays a comprehensive information about the system
taskkill - terminate tasks by process id (PID) or image name
tasklist.exe - List Processes on local or a remote machine
taskmgr.exe - Task Manager
telephon.cpl - Telephone and Modem properties
timedate.cpl - Date and Time
title - Change the title of the CMD window you have open
tracert - Trace route
whoami /all - Display Current User/Group/Privilege Information
wmic - Windows Management Instrumentation Command-line
Could Computing and Virtualization
are related terms in resource optimization of IT infrastructure. Virtualization
is a technology used in Cloud Computing concept. Virtualization is using the
same hardware infrastructure to build several virtual servers as per the
requirements and needs. For instance assume you need a Windows Server and Linux
server for different purpose, you can build this in a same physical server by
using Virtualization technique.
Virtualization
(Soft Virtualization vs Hard
Virtualization)
Virtualization
is using the same hardware infrastructure to build several virtual servers as
per the requirements and needs. If we put this up in a layered architecture
layer 1 would be SAN (Storage Area Network), layer 2 would be hardware servers
(blade servers) for the resource allocation and the top layer would be host
server. Virtualization software like Citrix, VMware’s vSphere, Xen, Microsoft
Hyper V, Sun xVM will run on the top layer servers which are called host
servers. Host server run any operating system and the virtual servers can be
built on any operating system as per requirement.
Virtualization
technique was introduced to achieve the optimized usage of hardware devices and
reduce the maintenance burdens and related costs. Virtual sever with the same
configuration as dedicated server, will give the exact performance what
dedicated server can perform if required. The above mentioned technique is
called Soft Virtualization. There is another technique called Hard
Virtualization which is done by allocating dedicated resources when building
the server. This can be done on branded servers only with the Pre OS. This is
basically a physical partition of resources and will not achieve the maximum
resource utilization.
Cloud
Computing
Cloud
computing concept is to deliver virtual servers with a specific configuration
details with specific operating system, applications and services. The physical
location of cores (Processors or computation power), software, data access and
storage space is immaterial to the users. Cloud Computing uses the
Virtualization technique in order to achieve its criteria.
Basically
Cloud Computing is a collection of Virtualization Technique, SOA (Service
Oriented Architecture), Autonomic and Utility Computing.
The
business concept behind this is, rather having each physical server for each
services or applications on-site, you can hire an off shore or off site virtual
server from a cloud computing provider. This off site resources does not
require dedicated man power for maintenance from a company point of view.
Corporate can define the requirement specification and give it to the cloud
computing provider or calculate the resource requirement and order for a cloud
server online.
Cloud
Computing incorporates IaaS and SaaS (IasS vs SaaS). IaaS means Infrastructure
as a Service and SaaS is Software as a Service. Rather than investing on
Servers, SAN, Softwares, Rack Space, Network Devices, Bandwidth , maintenance
workforce its better to buy a cloud server service from a cloud computing
providers. In this model corporate don’t need to invest large amount of money
in infrastructure and do not need to bare repair costs or maintenance cost.
Software
as a Service (SaaS) is a concept to provide software services to corporate on
the virtual IaaS platform.The installation files or binaries will be kept in
the host server where the virtualization software is running and will be
installed on virtual servers as and when required or requested.
So
with IaaS and SaaS, Cloud computing providers should be able to provide entire
solution in a single virtual box according to the customer’s needs. For
instance if you want to run a server for Microsoft Exchange Server for staff
mailing purpose, rather buying a physical server and spend more resources you
could buy a cloud box with MS Exchange installed with internet connection or
VPN connection to corporate network.
Difference Between Cloud Computing
and Virtualization
(1) Virtualization is
a Technique but Cloud Computing is a Concept using Virtualization techniques.
(2)
Virtualization could be done internally in on-site and the resource
involvement except hardware still exists but whereas in Cloud Computing no
internal resources will be required.
Cloud Computing vs Virtualization
Jargon in the computing
industry is quite numerous, and many of them are difficult to
understand. Virtualization and cloud computing are two terms that were
relatively obscure but have since come to the forefront due to Google’s
push for cloud computing. The two terms are closely related but are not
in competition with each other. Virtualization is the creation of a
virtual environment on another machine. A good example of this would be
creating a Windows XP environment for an old program to run on inside a
Windows 7 operating system. On the other hand, cloud computing is a
computing architecture where the bulk of the resources are pooled
together and can be accessed remotely usually through the Internet.
Virtualization provides several advantages. The first, as
illustrated above, is allowing applications that were designed from one
operating system to run on another one. It is a more cost-effective
solution than having two or more machines just to be able to use all the
software you need. For cloud computing, the main concept and goal is to
create a virtual computing platform where resources can be allocated
depending on the needs of each individual user. This provides
flexibility as each user is allocated just what he needs, and it can be
allocated to another user once that user logs out. It also means that
the user’s computer need not be very powerful as most of the processing
is done on the cloud. It is also convenient for users as their data
would lie in the cloud, and they don’t need to worry about leaving data
at home or on another computer. Their data would always be accessible
regardless of which computer they are on.
The use of “a virtual computing platform” above may have already
clued you in that cloud computing uses virtualization in order to
achieve its goals. This is true since it is necessary to virtualize each
user’s desktop environment as well as resources like drives and folders
in order to give the user the general feel of a personalized desktop.
Summary:
1.Virtualization is the virtual simulation of any
computing element while cloud computing is an architecture where
resources are pooled together and remotely accessed. 2.The goal of
virtualization is to provide multiple environments in a single machine
while the goal of cloud computing is to provide a scalable computing
platform.
3.Cloud computing utilizes virtualization.
Making Sense of the New MCSE: Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert
Overview
The reinvention of the MCSE has spawned a number of opinions, both
good and bad. As an MCT who has seen many certification changes over the
years -- both good and bad -- I want to share my own opinions about how
things are falling into place.
The MCSE is Back!
First of all, I’m excited about the new MCSE certifications and I’m
glad that Microsoft has found a way to get back to the MCSE brand that
is recognized around the world, and not just within the IT industry. I
have been very proactive in working with Microsoft Learning during this
process, as I strongly believe the new MCSE certification program will
benefit IT professionals. Although there is still much confusion about
the new certifications I know that when all the questions have been
answered, IT professionals will be happy with these changes.
Let’s face it, this is a change that IT professionals have been asking
for since the MCIP and MCTS certifications were released over 5 years
ago. As I mentioned in my first post on this topic (Read: The MCSE is Back!),
to this day I get students asking me about the Windows Server 2008
MCSE track. This alone should tell you that Microsoft simply made a
mistake when they decided to get rid of the MCSE certifications and now
they are doing the right thing by bringing it back.
Understanding the New MCSE
How should IT professionals approach the new MCSE certification program?
To begin with, I think it’s still a bit early for criticizing Microsoft
and the new certification program. Over the next few weeks and months,
and especially with the release of Windows Server 2012, the program will
start to make much more sense. For those of you who are being impatient
about the whole thing, my suggestion is to pretend for the moment that
nothing has changed and continue with your current certification
program. Once the dust settles and questions become answered, Microsoft
will be able to illustrate the future of the new MCSE certification
program and what it has to offer.
If you’re currently working on a Microsoft cert, there’s no need to
panic; my clear advice is to continue with your current certification
plans. This is the advice that I have been giving my students every
time something like this happens and I’ve never had anyone tell me that
they have regretted their decision in continuing on their certification
paths. If anything, the cert that you’re working on will only help you
get closer to the MCSE and your career goals. Remember, IT
certifications play a very important role in placing qualified IT
professionals for the right jobs; this is not something that will change
anytime soon. This is not the first or last time that Microsoft is
revising their certification program, we’ve seen this before and I’m
sure it’ll happen again. Microsoft’s certification program has been
around for 20 years and it has been successful all this time, nothing
says that this will change with the latest revisions.
What the New MCSE Means
With that said, there is one concern that I have with the new MCSE
and that is the way it is going to be used. The letters are back, but
unlike the original MCSE which was based off of the server products, the
new MCSE is being presented to be more like the MCITP where there are
going to be a whole number of MCSE certifications which will be
available. As much as I can appreciate that the IT marketplace is very
diverse and may not seem to cater to overly generalized certifications, I
am concerned that the MCSE which has such strong brand recognition will
lose its impact in the same way that the MCITP was never really
accepted by IT HR personnel. There are many people asking why we
couldn’t just bring the original MCSE back the way it was (other than
changing the name from engineer to expert for legal reasons), and then
have the specializations added like "Messaging" and "Security" that we
had before and add ones like "Private Cloud". I personally agree that
this would have been a better solution.
If cloud computing is not confusing enough, there is also this so
called private cloud. And what is private cloud? I am hoping at this
time you have reviewed my Cloud Computing for IT Pros series and have a clear understanding of what a service is and what cloud computing is. These are key concepts. And equally important, you know the 5-3-2 Principle of Cloud Computing
and why an application is a cloud application while others may not.
Generally speaking, there are 5 essential characteristics, 3 delivery
methods, and 2 deployment models (or 4 if following NIST definition) in
cloud computing. Does not matter it is public cloud or private cloud.
If it is classified as cloud computing, it should at least exhibit the
5-3-2 principle as the core set of attributes. With that in mind, so
what is private cloud?
Private cloud? Well, it is a cloud, so the 5 essential
characteristics of cloud computing apply. The term, private, here means
dedicated and a private cloud is a cloud dedicated to an organization.
The classification here is based on the intended users and not the
ownership of the infrastructure. Namely, an organization has a dedicated
cloud does not necessarily mean the organization must own the
infrastructure on which a dedicated cloud is running. A obvious example
is a private cloud running on an infrastructure owned and managed by a
3rd party hosting company. So a subscribing company may possibly own the
data, software, configurations, and instances, but not the physical
boxes and underlying infrastructure. To find out more of running private
cloud in this fashion, a list of private cloud hosting companies is readily available.
Perhaps a more commonly assumed definition of private cloud is an
on-premises deployment of cloud computing. In other words, all including
the servers, cabling, software, running instances, etc. are owned and
managed by an organization behind its enterprise firewall, as shown
above. Many enterprises assume this definition of private cloud due
to an existing deployment of on-premises IT resources. While
transitioning into private cloud, it is a logical step to build one by
employing already deployed hardware and software. Ultimately
cloud computing is to better deliver applicaitons. The goal of
constructing a private cloud can be acquiring IaaS, PaaS, or SaaS. Based
on the objectives, an organization, for example, may simply seek the
ability to efficiently deploy/manage servers to provide maximal
flexibility for develoying and testing applicaitons, and in this
case IaaS is what and all the organization needs. While the servers are
deployed via IaaS, applications running within these servers do not have
to be cloud applications. The applications can very well be traditional
(i.e. non-cloud computing) ones. The point is that to pursue a private
cloud, it is not necessarily to acquire all three (IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS)
delivery methods. Nevertheless, for enterprise it is only logical to
start with IaaS to fundamentally and strategically convert existing IT
establishments into a cloud-ready environment. For pursuing a private
cloud, IT should have IaaS in place first which will fundamentally
provide the mechanism for resource pooling, scalability, and elasticity. Microsoft private cloud solutions is called Hyper-V Cloud.
Which is a set of guidelines as shown here on the right and offerings
on building private cloud with IaaS using readily available
technologies, i.e. Windows Server 2008 R2 and System Center Virtual Machine Manager.
Hyper-V Cloud is exciting since not only it increase the ROI on
existing deployment, it also strategically places a foundation to
integrate Windows Azure platform offered in public cloud. Ultimately,
enterprise will be able to manage physical, virtualized, and cloud
(private and public) with a single pane of glass provided by System
Center.
Above all, it does not matter if the delivery method is IaaS, PaaS,
or SaaS. As far as a user is concerned, whatever your
service/application is, it is always SaaS even if your application is
not cloud-based. Application is what this is all about. So when it comes
to implement private cloud which will eventually change how your IT
delivers services, it is an expensive proposition on both cost and
customer satisfaction. Be clear on short-term checkpoints and
long-term business goals. Scope down but be very strategic in overall
implementation.
If you're new to the BlackBerry world, you are surely overwhelmed with all the buttons and ports on your device. You are learning things as you go, finding out something new everyday. Well you may or may not know that there are a multitude of keyboard shortcuts for your device that will help you speed through many things on your BlackBerry in no time at all. Here we will take a look at some of the various shortcuts you can use for messaging, browsing, composing email/SMS and more. Lets jump right in. (Keep in mind these are the default shortcuts and should work for most devices) Beginner's Guide to BlackBerry KeyBoard Shortcuts The Convenience Key
The first and most basic of all shortcuts is the Convenience Key. This is the one key that you hold the power to. You have the option to change this to whatever you find to be the most useful - to lock your keys, activate the camera, compose an email - you name it. To change this option, go to Options > Screen/Keyboard and set it under Convenience Key. Create a Signature with AutoText
Many people have asked how to easily create multiple signatures for emails or SMS. The simplest way is by creating an AutoText entry with your preset signature. To do this, go to Options > AutoText. Select "New". Under "Replace", type a shortuct (ie. sig, zz - something quick and easy). Under "With" type your desired signature ("Sent by Adam") then choose save and you're set! Now in your SMS just type your shortcut and hit Space and you're signature will appear. Standby Mode
One of the greatest tips to save on battery life and keep from calling people with yourr device in your pocket (hey, we've all done it) is to put your device into standby mode. To do this, simply hold the Mute key on top of your device for 3 seconds. Your Berry will go into standby mode, where you will be prevented from accidentally pressing any keys, but all your alerts and calls will still come in. To exit standby mode, just tap the Mute key.
Now we will go through a list of all the shortcuts for various areas of your device. Basic Shortcuts
The following shortcuts can be used in many applications:
To exit a screen (or to move to a previous page in a browser) press the Escape key
To select or clear a check box, press the Space key
To switch applications, hold the Alt key and press the Escape key. Continue holding the Alt key and select an application, then release the Alt key
To return to the Home screen, press the End key
Phone Shortcuts
The following shortcuts can be used in the Phone application or during a phone call:
To answer a phone call, press the Send key
To view the call log, press the Send key from any screen
To insert a plus sign (+) when typing a phone number, hold the letter O
To add an extension to a phone number, press the Alt key and the X key, then type the extension number
To assign a speed dial number to a key, from the Home screen or in the Phone application, hold the key you want to assign. Type the phone number
To type a letter in a phone number field, press the Alt key and the letter
To move to the top of the Phone screen, press the Space key
To change between headset, speakerphone and handset, press the menu key and choose an option, or better yet, Tap the $ (dollar sign) key on your keyboard to turn speakerphone on/off during a call
To stay in a call and return to the home screen, press the Escape key and select Ok
Message Shortcuts
In a message:
R - Reply To Message
L - Reply To All
F - Forward Message
I - File Highlighted Message
To view the email address of a contact, in a message, highlight the contact. Press Q. To view the display name again, press Q.
In a message list:
C - Compose Message
ALT+U - Mark Message As Opened/Unopened
ALT+I - View Inbox
ALT+O - View Outbox
ALT+V - View Voicemail
ALT+S - View SMS
ALT+P - View Call Log
To view all your messages again, press the Escape key
SHIFT+SPACE - Move to the top of a screen
SPACE - Move to the bottom of a screen
T - Go to top of a message
B - Go to bottom of a message
N - Move to the next date
P - Move to the previous date
U - Move to the next unopened item
J - Move to the next related item
K - Move to the previous realted item
F - Search for text in an attachment/web page
G - Move to the last cursor position in a message after closing and reopening an attachment
Typing Shortcuts
To insert a period, press the Space key twice. The next letter is capitalized
To capitalize a letter, hold the letter key until the capitalized letter appears
Alt + Left Shift - NUM Lock
Alt + Right Shift - CAPS Lock
To turn off NUM lock or CAP lock, press the Shift key
To insert an at sign (@) or a period (.) in an email address field, press the Space key
To highlight a line of text, press the Shift key and roll the trackball
To highlight text character by character, hold the Shift key and roll the trackball left or right
To cancel a text selection, press the Escape key
To cut highlighted text when typing, press the Shift + Backspace/Delete key
To copy highlighted text when typing, press the Alt key and click the trackball
To paste highlighted text when typing, press the Shift key and click the trackball
Browser Shortcuts
To insert a period in the Go To dialog box, press the Space key
To insert a slash mark (/) in the Go To dialog box, press Shift+Space
To open the browser options, in the browser, press O
To stop loading a web page, press the Escape key
To hide the browser, press D
To close the browser, hold the Escape key
To view the address for a link, highlight a link. Press L
To move forward a screen, press the Shift key and the Space key
To move to a previous screen, press the Space key
G - Move to a specific page
H - Return to the home page
K - Open bookmarks
A - Add a bookmark
I - View recent web pages
R - Refresh page
P - View page address
S - Save web page
U - Hide browser banner
X - Veiw thumbnail version of a page
T - Move to the top of a page
B - Move to the bottom of a page
Media Shortcuts
Mute Key - Pause/Resume a video/song
R - Rotate pictures
I - Zoom In
O - Zoom Out
W - Original Size
Calendar Shortcuts
C - schedule an appointment
A - Change to Agenda view
D - Change to Day view
W - Change to Week view
M - Change to Month view
Space - Move to the next day/week/month
Shift+Space - Move to the previous day/week/month
T - Move to the current date
G - Move to a specific date
An easy way to access the default applications is through keyboard shortcuts as well. To use these, you must have Dial From Home Screen set to "Off". (Phone > Options > General Options). You will now have to use the Send key to access your phone and make a call, but you will have the following shortcuts available:
W - WAP Browser
R - Alarm
T - Tasks
U - Calculator
O - Options
A - Address Book
S - Search
D - Notes
F - Profiles
H - Help
K - Lock keypad
L - Calendar
M - Messages
B - Browser
N - BlackBerry Messenger
V - Saved messages
C - Compose
Other helpful shortcuts:
ALT+Shift+H - Access Help ME! screen (status info etc.)
ALT+LGLG - Access Event Log
ALT+Right Shift+DEL - Soft Reset
You can change the display of the 'signal strength' on your screen to read in real numbers. While at the home screen, hold down the ALT key while you type NMLL. The bars should change to numbers. For the 'signal strength', if you are in the 100 area (that means -100 dBm), you will be transmitting at maximum power. Anything at -90 to -50 is a very good signal.
On top of the AutoText there are also some short codes for common device information that you can type into SMS or email messages that will return a value:
myver - Device Model/Version
mypin - Device PIN
LD - Local Date
LT - Local Time
Once you get the hang of it, using these shortcuts will make you much quicker on the draw and help your harness the full abilities of your device. They will not only save you time, but help you easily navigate through all aspects of your device.
Anyone who has needed to create a large number of folders in Windows knows this is a tedious task. Simplify your creation by typing a list of the folder names in a text document, and get a program to do all the manual work.
The first thing you need to do is type a list of the folders you want to create in a plain text document. You should put every new folder on a new line. If you want to create sub-folders just put a “\” after the parent folder and type the name of the subfolder. Save this anywhere on your PC just make sure you remember where you save it.
Now head over the the developers website, and grab yourself a free copy of Text 2 Folders. Once the portable application has downloaded unzip the file and run it.
Click the top browse button, the one on the root folder row, and browse for a folder that you want your folder structure to be created under. Now hit the second browse button and locate the text file we created earlier.
Click create folders and that’s all there is to it.
How to Reinstall Windows Without Having to Reactivate
Every time you format and reinstall your PC, you have to activate Windows again, which can sometimes be a pain once you’ve done it too many times. Here’s how to backup and then restore the activation status.
Note: we aren’t going to cover how to reinstall Windows, since you should know how to do that already. This article just covers backing up and restoring your activation.
Introduction
Advanced Token Manager easily allows you to back up all the information that Windows uses to check the validity of you copy of Windows. Collectively called a Token, this information can be backed up to an external storage medium. Once you have formatted you can import the Token and your Windows will be genuine again.
Backing Up
Once you have grabbed your copy of Advanced Token Manager from here, you can extract the zip file and then run the executable file.
When the advanced token manager launches, you will see the BIG Backup Activation button. Click it to begin backing up your token. All the “BBB” characters are just masking the real product key, don’t worry that is not your real product key.
Once you click the Backup Activation button, we expect that 99% of you will be prompted with this message. Unless some of you are ultra geeky and using KMS at home, you will get this message. You can just click yes to continue.
Once activation is finished being backed up, you will see a folder called “Windows Activation Backup” in the same folder that you launched the token manager from, this contains the backup.
Now we have reloaded Windows on the same PC, as you can see it is not activated.
Now I can run the advanced token manager, this time it will say Restore instead of Backup.
Once you click Restore you will be prompted to make sure you want to do this, click the next button to start the restoration.
Once it has completed a success message will appear.
If you go check your validity in the System Settings, you should have the genuine badge back.
The advanced token manager can also support Office Activation and works on all versions of Windows 7.
