Microsoft will debut Intune later this month. No, it's not a lame ripoff of GarageBand, but a desktop management tool in cloud form.
Intune, in short, adapts premise-based software such as Forefront, malware defense software, configuration tools, Systems Center and inventory management. And you get all this for the odd price of $11 a month for each user. That works out to $132 a year -- if my high school math is correct.
For Microsoft, it is an outstanding deal. It simply loads the software in some datacenter and charges for access. But hey, if the software does the job and saves IT hassles, it's well worth it.
Do you agree, or am I missing something important? Set me straight at [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 03/02/2011 at 1:18 PM4 comments
Few like their privacy invaded. Even publicity-craving celebs draw the line at some point -- or at least pretend to.
You don't have to be Lindsay Lohan to have the Internet paparazzi hunt you down. All you need is a browser for sleazy advertisers to track your every move because your clicks can be recorded as clickstream data.
Microsoft's IE9 can block the gathering of this precious info. It is so good that the Worldwide Web Consortium (W3C -- an acronym that makes no apparent sense) is considering formally recommending the approach to others.
W3C likes the approach where end-users opt-in and tracking Web sites are blocked.
Posted by Doug Barney on 03/02/2011 at 1:18 PM0 comments
When Google shipped software that lets users work together on Office files, no one expected Microsoft to break out the Perrier-Jouet. As expected, Redmond popped the cork on some crabapple wine.
Microsoft dissed the Google effort, arguing that it is not secure. Redmond also claims the files may not maintain their fidelity and not all features (like markup review) will work perfectly.
Cynics may point out that Microsoft's Web Office apps aren't perfect either. Sounds like there are plenty of credible insults on both sides.
Have you used Google Apps or Office Web versions? If so, what say you? Explain yourself at [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 03/02/2011 at 1:18 PM1 comments
IT pros always have lots of questions about Microsoft products. You can subscribe to MSDN or TechNet, use Microsoft support, look it up on the Internet or ask your peers.
There is another option: Microsoft Answers.
We wanted to provide you with a heads-up on Microsoft Answers, a three-year-old forum driven by the Microsoft Community. Microsoft recently revamped the site and claim the streamlining will make it that much faster to get your questions handled.
The total redo can rank the reputation or credibility of community contributors, helping to insure that the answers are real, while weeding out scammers and knuckleheads.
Microsoft also claims it improved Microsoft Answers Search by allowing visitors to tag content for its level of help.
Posted by Doug Barney on 02/28/2011 at 1:18 PM4 comments
Last week Microsoft sent out the first software update for Windows Phone 7 and then promptly yanked it back. The problem? The update froze a number (Microsoft says a small number, and I have no reason to doubt) of Samsung smartphones.
If you are one of the unlucky minority, Microsoft says you should pull out the battery and stick it back in. Heck, I did the same thing last week with my Blackberry when it wouldn't download mail. Like kicking an old TV, it worked like a charm!
Reportedly, the battery fix works for some, not for others.
Is your smartphone solid or flaky as a crescent roll? Answers welcome from phones, iPads, Netbooks, PCs or even thin clients at [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 02/28/2011 at 1:18 PM5 comments
Mary Jo Foley is perhaps the number one Microsoft watcher. I should know. I competed against her as a Microsoft reporter a couple decades ago. Foley has been breaking Microsoft news ever since, and Redmond magazine is lucky enough to have her as our back-page columnist.
Now Foley is hearing that Windows 8 could come out next summer. She guesses that the Professional Developers Conference, held in the fall, will see a community technology preview (a fancy name for an alpha or early beta version).
All this comes from one slide presumably leaked by someone at Microsoft (or a close associate) that lays out the internal coding schedule.
Adding meat to the rumor is the fact that Microsoft generally has a three-year OS release cycle, and that alone places Windows 8 sometime next year.
While Microsoft declined comment on the rumors, one thing it is open about is the code name: Windows Next. Of course this shouldn't be the real name because once it ships, it is already here, so it can't be next. Perhaps they'll call it Windows Most Recent!
We also know that Windows 8, er Windows Next, will be embedded as a system-on-a-chip on ARM processors, though there is no guarantee that port will ship with the native Intel version. In fact, I'd bet all the change in my pocket it won't.
Other details about Windows 8 are sketchy at best, and include a 3D user interface and facial recognition camera (perhaps for security -- just don't pull a Joan Rivers. It'll never recognize you!).
Posted by Doug Barney on 02/25/2011 at 1:18 PM6 comments
Microsoft's Malware Protection Engine drives a whole host of Redmond security tools. The software was found to have an elevation-of-privilege security flaw that got a fix this week.
Users of Windows LiveCare, Defender, Security Essentials, the Malicious Software Removal Tools and Forefront Endpoint Protection should welcome this fix.
Rather than install a patch, just make sure your security software gets automatically updated. The trick is to check the Malware Protection Engine version number and make sure it is 1.1.6603.0 or higher.
Posted by Doug Barney on 02/25/2011 at 1:18 PM0 comments
Many were watching to see if Steve Jobs would show at the Apple shareholders meeting held on Wednesday. He didn't, and I didn't expect him to.
As a show of support, a large margin of shareholders refused to force Apple to outline a succession plan in the event that Jobs doesn't return. I'm sure they didn't want to send the wrong message to the market and to Mr. Jobs.
Apple took the opportunity to leak the fact that the iPad 2 will be unveiled March 2, but I'm not sure many expect Mr. Jobs to lead this show like he has at so many launches.
The new iPad should have a camera, better graphics and a faster processor -- perhaps a dual-core processor. This ain't no revolution, but Apple fans will be standing in line anyway.
Have you tied your iPad into any of your enterprise tools? If so, which and how? Share that wealth at [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 02/25/2011 at 1:18 PM2 comments
One reader shares his method for testing multiple IE versions on one machine:
There is a way to run multiple IE browsers on one machine with IECollection software. This software includes IE 1-8 and they all reside on the same physical (or virtual) machine. I've ran into version problems in the past and wanted to have multiple browsers on our tech's machine for support. This software allows us to do just that.
As far as my browser of choice, at work I use FireFox and IE, at home I use Chrome. If I had to pick one it would probably be Chrome but it has its quirks at times.
-Travis
Share your thoughts with the editors of this newsletter! Write to [email protected]. Letters printed in this newsletter may be edited for length and clarity, and will be credited by first name only (we do NOT print last names or e-mail addresses).
Posted by Doug Barney on 02/25/2011 at 1:18 PM0 comments
BOF: Buffer Overflow
BOD: Bandwidth on Demand
AAS: Auto Area Segmentation
ATE: Asynchronous Terminal Emulation
BJ: Bubble Jet
Blob: Binary Large Object
CAD: Computer Aided Design
CCK: Client Customization Kit
CLOB: Character Bit Object
CRAM: Card Random Access Memory
CUD: Cursor Down
DAM: Direct Access Mode
FAT: File Allocation Table
DIP: Dual Inline Pin
DNR: Domain Name Resolver
DUNCE: Dial Up Network Connection Enhancement
FAC: File Access Code
FUUG: Finnish Unix User Group
GIMP: GNU Image Manipulation Program
HIMEM: High Memory
IP: Internet Protocol
IDUG: International DB2 User Group
IRAM: Intelligent Random Access Memory
ISCIS: Internet Small Computer Interface
LAP: Linux Application Programs
LISP: List Processor
MBONE: Multicast Backbone
MAM: Memory Allocation Map
NAD: Network Access Device
NIPS: Network Intrusion Prevention System
OOO: Out of Office
POOP: Parallel Object Oriented Program
POS: Point of Sale
RAM: Random Access Memory
SACK: Selective Acknowledgement
PET: Progressive Education Technology
PHOLED: Phosphorescent Organic Light Emitting Diode
SPEWS: Spam Prevention Early Warning System
STD: Set Direction Flag
SWISH: Simple Web Indexing System for Humans
Posted by Doug Barney on 02/24/2011 at 1:18 PM9 comments
Identity tool CardSpace will not be released in Version 2.0 form. But don't worry,Microsoft has tools for client identity better than CardSpace, such as its U-Prove technology, used in conjunction with Active Directory Federation Services 2.0, now nearly a year old.
CardSpace is a claims-based system where the end user’s information, such as a password or e-mail address, is tapped to actively provide identity credentials.
Posted by Doug Barney on 02/23/2011 at 1:18 PM0 comments
Google has been caught in so many anti-privacy schemes, you'd think it would wise up. But Google is like Charlie Sheen, unable to admit it has a major problem.
So it is now that we learn of a Google art contest for kids that could help Google scare up social security numbers of minors.
As part of the parental disclosure, Google requires the last four digits of the kids' social security numbers, the city of birth and  parental data.
Experts believe that with this information, it is child's play to figure out the rest of the social security number.
Who needs the Patriot Act when we have Google?
Who is the worst privacy offender? Opinions welcome at [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 02/23/2011 at 1:18 PM2 comments