Posey's Tips & Tricks


Performing a Storage Refresh on Windows Server 2016, Part 1

To spruce up some aging lab hardware, Brien decided to make the jump to all-flash storage. Here's a walk-through of the first half of the process.

Standardizing the Look of Outlook's Outbound Messages

Microsoft typically gives users a blank canvas to compose new e-mails in Outlook. In some corporate environments, however, a blank canvas isn't a good thing.

System Center VMM Library Availability for Unmanaged Hosts

You know that SCVMM libraries can store ISO files, virtual hard disks and various types of templates in a single location for use on all of your managed hosts. But what about unmanaged hosts?

Office Windows

Should You Rethink Your Office Patching Strategy?

Buggy patches are all but inevitable -- especially, it seems, if they're from Microsoft. Maybe the old wait-and-see approach to Office patching is worth a second look.

Notebook

Hyper-V for Newbies: 4 Things To Know Before Getting Started

If you're new to Hyper-V, here are some pointers that can save you a lot of grief.

Using Functions To Alter the Appearance of an Excel Spreadsheet

While functions are typically used for computational purposes, they can also be used to change a spreadsheet's overall look. Here's an example using Excel's MOD function.

Black Box

When To Back Up the Windows Desktop (And When To Skip It)

It goes without saying that data should be backed up, but what about the OS? The short answer is, it depends.

Hardware

Machine Learning 101: The Building Blocks To Get Started

It may be the buzziest tech trend of the moment, but machine learning is no easy matter. Before you jump into writing machine learning algorithms, here are the basics you need to start a project.

Creating Custom Workflows in Office 365

Brien walks you through how to make completely custom workflows to suit out-of-the-ordinary situations.

How To Create Multi-Dimensional Arrays in PowerShell

A quick primer on one of the most useful tools in PowerShell scripting.

How To Run Oculus Rift Apps in Windows Mixed Reality, Part 2

Now that you know how to make SteamVR work with Microsoft's Mixed Reality environment, it's time to actually run apps that are designed for the Oculus Rift.

How To Run Oculus Rift Apps in Windows Mixed Reality, Part 1

A lack of apps has been the biggest thorn in the side of Microsoft's mixed reality efforts. One way to get around it is to use apps that were designed for Oculus Rift instead.

Get More Out of Your Outlook Inbox with TakeNote

Brien comes across a handy, but imperfect, feature in Outlook that lets you annotate specific e-mails. Its provenance is something of a mystery, though.

Frozen Glass

How To Use PowerShell Splatting

Despite its weird name, splatting can be a really handy technique if you create a lot of PowerShell scripts.

How To Use PowerShell's Out Verb

Your screen doesn't have to be PowerShell's only output device. As Brien shows, the Out verb lets you redirect PowerShell's output in a variety of useful ways.

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