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Top 10 Microsoft Tips and Analyses of 2020: Windows Phone Lives, Cloud Outage Lessons and More
The most popular how-to and commentary articles of the year (plus a few honorable mentions).
10. Introduction to Hyper-V Switch Embedded Teaming, Part 1
Switch embedded teaming is to Hyper-V what NIC teaming was to Windows Server 2012, though it never got the same level of hype. For those new to SET, Brien gives an overview of what the feature does and why it's so useful. [Read here]
9. The Night the Lights Went Out in the Cloud: Lessons from the AWS Outage
Last week's AWS outage that broke the Internet showed how critical it is to build applications that can withstand transient failure. Here's what you need to know to design a resilient cloud app (and it doesn't involve multicloud). [Read here]
8. How To Convert VMware Virtual Machines to Hyper-V
One of the lesser-known capabilities of System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM) is its ability to convert VMware virtual machines so that they can run on Microsoft Hyper-V. [Read here]
7. A Deep Dive Inside Azure SQL Database, Part 1
Microsoft promises 99.995 percent uptime for the Azure SQL platform, which is incredible. In the first of a two-part series, Joey takes an close look at the infrastructure that supports high availability in Azure database services. [Read here]
6. Expanded Data Types: Microsoft Excel's Most Significant New Feature in Years
Beyond just crunching budgets, Microsoft's recent Excel overhaul will give it the intelligence to recognize over 100 new data categories and process information in ways that were previously unimagined. [Read here]
5. Why Windows Phone Is Dead, But Not Completely Gone
Don't call it a comeback (because that's not likely). But as Brien explains, there are three ways that today's smartphone market leaves the door open for Microsoft to bring Windows back to smartphones. [Read here]
4. How To Use .CSV Files with PowerShell, Part 1
When it comes to bulk administration, few things are handier than .CSV files. In this two-part series, Brien demos his top techniques for working with .CSV files in PowerShell. First up: How to create a .CSV file. [Read here]
3. IT Security Isn't Supposed To Be Easy
Joey explains why it's worth it to endure a little inconvenience for the long-term benefits of a password manager and multifactor authentication. [Read here]
2. 'Windows 12' Is Not What You Think It Is
Reports of a Windows 10 successor in the wild have been greatly exaggerated. Brien digs into what's really going on with the rumored "Windows 12." [Read here]
1. What's Behind the Rumored Office 365 Password Manager
Microsoft is said to be planning a new "Life" edition of Office 365 for spring 2020, but Brien is most intrigued by the password manager that's reportedly coming with the bundle. [Read here]