Columns


In Windows 10 Test Builds, Microsoft Makes Old Features Like New

Microsoft has been giving some longstanding Windows features like Notepad a facelift with each new Windows 10 preview build. But as Brien notes, some of the changes are more annoying than helpful.

Provisioning Outdated OSes with Hyper-V 2016 Integration Services

Managing Integration Services used to be a pain until Microsoft began including it in all Windows OSes, starting with Windows Server 2016. But administrators of older platforms don't need to be left high and dry.

Retrieving Detailed Information About Hyper-V VMs

There is actually quite a bit of VM info that is hidden from view, but that can be exposed through the Get-VM cmdlet if you know how. Brien walks you through the steps.

Migrating a Major SQL Server Workload to Azure: The Good, Bad and Ugly

You're going to need a bigger network connection.

'Datacenter Is Dead,' Says Gartner Analyst

What exactly will this new, nearly datacenter-less world look like? Gartner's head of research sees enterprises making a number of adaptive moves.

How To Use Storage Spaces in Windows Server 2016, Part 2

As Brien explains, creating a virtual disk in Windows Storage Spaces is akin to creating a map to the underlying raw storage that will be used by the volumes on the virtual disk.

How To Use Storage Spaces in Windows Server 2016, Part 1

In this introduction to Microsoft's Storage Spaces technology, Brien walks you through the steps of creating a storage space and a virtual disk.

Lessons from Putting Microsoft Mixed Reality to Work, Part 2

Thinking of creating some 360-degree videos using Microsoft's mixed reality technology? Here are a few more tips.

Lessons from Putting Microsoft Mixed Reality to Work, Part 1

Brien uses Microsoft's mixed-reality technology to take some 360-degree videos, and comes away with a couple of pointers.

How To Get More Help with PowerShell Cmdlets

PowerShell has a reputation for being complicated, and for good reason. Luckily, there is a lot of help available -- if you know where to look for it.

Taking Stock of Microsoft's Office 365 UX Updates

It might be easy to dismiss Microsoft's planned Office 365 changes as purely cosmetic, but as Brien argues, the upcoming redesign goes way past skin-deep.

Q&A: The State of SQL Server Tools Development

Microsoft's SQL Server toolbox is a complicated ecosystem, and differentiating one tool from another is a challenge. Vicky Harp, lead program manager of the SQL Server tools team, clarifies Microsoft's vision for its tools landscape.

What's Up with Microsoft Office?

Microsoft's preference for the subscription-based Office 365 over the "perpetual license" version is starting to show up in its feature descriptions.

Fixing a Virtual Machine that's Stuck in a Saved State

There are a few reasons why a VM might be placed in a saved state, but the most common is that it needs to be backed up. Here's how to fix this.

How Much Space Do You Get by Shrinking a Hyper-V VHD?

The answer lies in Hyper-V's Edit Virtual Hard Disk Wizard. Here's a walk-through.

Facebook Unveils New Datacenter Cooling System

Close on the heels of Microsoft's "Project Natick" announcement, Facebook took the wraps off its own water-based cooling technology.

How To Change the DNS Settings of an Azure VM

As Brien recently discovered, a glitch in Azure can cause a virtual machine to fail when it's manually configured to use a specific DNS server. Here's how the problem went down and how he fixed it.

Office 365 Troubleshooting: Think Like a Microsoft Support Tech

Before you resign yourself to a potentially frustrating and lengthy tech support call to fix an Office 365 problem, try a little DIY.

Hyperscale Datacenters Surprise with 'Staggering' Growth in Q1

Even on the heels of a breakout 2017, the world's biggest datacenter operators -- among them Google, Microsoft and Amazon Web Services -- have outdone themselves.

How To Migrate E-Mail from Gmail to Office 365

When a bulk migration from Google's e-mail platform to Microsoft's isn't in the cards, here's how to do it mailbox by mailbox.

Subscribe on YouTube