Dec 12

What’s new in Windows 10 1511 (Build 10586)

Begin November Microsoft Released the first big update to Windows 10 to the current branch users of Windows 10 (the default update setting)

This upgrade brings you to the 10586 Build (original release was Build 10240) this is the first of the upgrades that will be released every four months, bringing new features and improvements to your operating system.

Am I running the new version?

to check your current build click start, type winver and select to run the winver command

start_winver_screenshot

this will give you this screen:

1511_winver_screenshot

If you don’t see Version 1511 but Version 10.0 (Build 10240) you’re still running the 1st release version

(the number after the point in the build number will increase with new updates installed)

What’s new in this Build?

  • Performance improvements
    • One of the core changes is more improved Memory Manager. With this build Windows 10 compresses pages during intense usage thereby reducing pressure on system memory. By reducing the amount of memory used per process, Windows 10 can effectively manage more active programs in the main memory.
    • Booting is now 30% faster on the same hardware then with Windows 7
  • Personalization
    • Colors: Now has the option to also update your windows title bars with your chosen color
    Colors
    • Lock screen: Windows Spotlight, changing images on your lock screen & option to disable the default background on the sign in screen

spotlight

  • Start Menu / Screen
    • Show more tiles

more tiles

    • ‘Occasionally show suggestions in start’ was added to all editions. (already in the home editions before)
  • Edge Browser
    • Updated from edge 20.10240 to 25.10586 with EdgeHTML13
    • Cast media to device, this great feature enables you to cast media from a site to any DLNA enabled TV on your network.
Cast_Media
    • Added preview tabs, hovering on a tab wil show a small preview it.

Edge_preview

  • Windows Update for Business
    • Introduces group policy settings to defer updates & upgrades for certain time to enable staging and testing of updates & upgrades without the need for a wsus server

WUBUS

  • Updated context menu’s
    • For more clear navigation

context

  • Skype Messaging & Skype Video App
    • These apps are now installed by default, enabling skype messaging and video calling without the need to install additional software

skype video Messaging

  • Apps can now be stored on other drives
    • Great for tablets with low storage to be able to store your apps on the SD-card

app storage

  • Snapped windows can now be resized to your convenience
    • With 2 windows snapped left & right dragging the middle line left or right now resizes both windows instead of only one.

snap drag

  • Cortana
    • inked reminders

    • missed call notification with text sending via your phone
      • Cortana shows missed calls from your phone on you pc, including the ability to reply with an sms

Conclusion:

The November Upgrade is loaded with great new added features, making Windows 10 even faster and better then it already was, I can’t wait to see what ‘ll be in the next upgrade which is to be released 4 months after this one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dec 12

How to get the Office Insider Build with Office 365 for business

If you’re an Office 365 for business customer, follow these steps to install the First Release build for the Office 365 client. This gives you early access to the new features of Office 2016 and is the same as the Office Insider build. While not required at this time, if you’re the Office 365 admin, we also recommend that you enable First Release for the users that have the First Release build. Important   If you’re an Office 365 Home, Office 365 Personal, or Office 365 University subscriber, don’t follow these steps. Instead, go to Office Insider to sign up and get the Office Insider build.

  1. Download the Office Deployment Tool (Office 2016 version) from the Microsoft Download Center.
  2. Double-click OfficeDeploymentTool.exe to extract the Setup.exe file and the sample configuration.xml file.
  3. Use a text editor (like Notepad) to edit the configuration.xml file like this: 
    <Configuration>
  <Add OfficeClientEdition="32" Branch="FirstReleaseCurrent">
    <Product ID="O365ProPlusRetail">
      <Language ID="en-us" />
    </Product>
  </Add>  
  <Updates Enabled="TRUE" /> 
  <Display Level="None" AcceptEULA="TRUE" />  
  <Logging Level="Standard" Path="%temp%" /> 
</Configuration>

    This installs a 32-bit version of Office 365 ProPlus in English from the Office Content Delivery Network (CDN) on the Internet. It also automatically gets updated from the CDN when available.

    Note   If you have the Office 365 Business or Office 365 Business Premium plan, use O365BusinessRetail, instead of O365ProPlusRetail, for the Product ID in the configuration.xml file.

    Learn more about configuration.xml settings in Reference for Click-to-Run configuration.xml file.

  4. Copy setup.exe and configuration.xml to the computer where you want Office 2016. An Internet connection is required.
  5. From an elevated command prompt, go to the folder where you copied the files and run the following command:Setup.exe /configure configuration.xml

This copies the Office files to the computer and starts the installation. If Office 2016 is already installed on your computer, these steps automatically update the version of Office installed on your computer.

source: support.office.com

Dec 08

With the release of Windows Server 2016, licensing to move from socket to core

Windows Server 2016

Microsoft has updated its licensing model for Windows Server, which will come into affect with the release of Windows Server 2016 sometime after the middle of next year.

Previously, Server licensing was based on the number of sockets in the host machine, with Windows Server 2012 and its two main editions, Standard and Datacenter, having identical features, and differing only in terms of the number of virtual operating system instances they supported. The Standard edition supported two VMs (in addition to the host OS); Datacenter was unlimited. Beyond that, they were identical. The licenses for both editions were sold in two socket units; one license was needed for each pair of sockets a system contained.

Windows Server 2016 licensing is less simple. First, the Standard and Datacenter editions are now fundamentally different. Datacenter includes additional storage replication capabilities, a new network stack with richer virtualization options, and shielded virtual machines that protect the content of a virtual machine from the administrator of the host operating system. These features are not included in the Standard edition.

Secondly, the licensing moves to a per core model. Instead of Windows Server 2012’s two socket license pack, Server 2016 will use a 2 core pack, with the license cost of each Server pack being 1/8th the price of the corresponding 2 socket pack for 2012. Each system running Windows Server 2016 must have a minimum of 8 cores (4 packs) per processor, and a minimum of 16 cores (8 packs) per system.

Those running the most basic system setups will most likely not see any changes in price. However, when you get to the other end of the spectrum, things start to look a little less appealing. For systems containing 2 or 4 processors with 10 cores per processor, it will cost 25 percent more to run Windows Server 2016 than it did Server 2012.

For the full licensing changes, check out the link to Microsoft’s PDF here.

Source: Neowin

Dec 03

FindTime: Discover the easiest way to find time to meet – A Microsoft Garage Project

FindTime_logo_128x128_transparent

This new free Outlook Add-in enables you to easily send out proposed meeting times with voting options for the attendees to find the perfect time for your meeting in no time!

findtime.microsoft.com

Nov 26

MVA Course: Understanding and Troubleshooting Office 365 End User Performance Issues

For Office 365 administrators who field performance complaints from users, there are lots of options. Want to know more? Check out this session. Learn how to plan for network bandwidth, compare use of Microsoft Azure ExpressRoute for Internet connectivity, and hear about tools and processes for troubleshooting performance issues. Plus, find out how and where to get the help you need.

Course url

Nov 26

MVA Course: What really happens when there is an Office 365 service incident, and what’s my role?

As an Office 365 admin, you play an important role in delivering the best possible productivity for your users and organization. Although delivering a reliable and continuous service is our top priority, Microsoft recognizes that service incidents can occur and that they may impact your experience. To help ensure that you’re prepared and empowered in these critical moments, we’re constantly improving processes and tooling to provide more transparent and actionable communications.

In this session, learn more about these continuous investments, and get ready to be successful in your role before, during, and after a service incident.

Course url

Nov 19

Windows 10 Mobile Insider Preview Build 10586 released to the Fast ring Insiders

New Build for Windows 10 Mobile is here for the fast ring insiders, I’m upgrading my 925 & 630 right now!

Known Issues: (read the bold text before you upgrade)

  • After we released Build 10581 to Windows Insiders in the Fast ring, we discovered a bug in the build that will cause the filesystem to become partially corrupted after doing a factory reset. For those of you who did a factory reset of your phone, you most likely did not notice this issue on Build 10581. Due to this bug however, upgrading to Build 10586 will cause your phone to go into a reboot loop after the upgrade completes – rebooting at the Windows or operator logo. To recover your phone, you can use the hardware key combination to reset your phone which will then put it at the OOBE experience on Build 10586. We highly recommend that you make sure you do a backup your phone *before* upgrading to Build 10586 due to this bug. Additionally, you can also recover your phone by using the Windows Device Recovery Tool to go back to Windows Phone 8.1 and then upgrade to Build 10586.
  • Deploying Silverlight apps through Visual Studio to your phone still won’t work in this build. This issue will be fixed with the release of Visual Studio 2015 Update 1 on Nov. 30th. You can deploy UWP apps to your phone without any issues.
  • There is a known issue where the tile for Insider Hub still remains under All apps but doesn’t open. Insider Hub isn’t included in this build. There isn’t a way to get it back unfortunately. However, it’ll return in a future flight! In the meantime, use Insider Hub on the PC as a workaround.

Fixes in this Build:

  • We have fixed the issue that caused the Start experience to become corrupted (garbled) after upgrading and restoring a backup from a phone that had a different resolution.
  • You should now be able to set your default save locations via Settings > System > Storage and it will correctly reflect the current storage settings. Your SD card should no longer show up as a garbled name in Storage settings either.
  • Moving apps to a SD card should no longer cause those apps to crash.
  • We’ve made improvements to the Messaging + Skype app – through both app updates via the Store and also on the server side.
  • This should be seeing less resuming/loading text when switching apps.
  • The physical camera button should be working again if it wasn’t working for you before.
  • Apps and games should download from the Store more reliably.

Nov 17

Office Insider Program

Last week Microsoft launched the Office Insider program, like the Windows insider Program, this program enables users who sign up to get new builds & features early, empowering them to give early feedback on new features and submit bugs before the build hits the ‘current branch’

more info: Become an Office Insider

 

Oct 19

Skype for Business: Learning the Basics Video

Microsoft has posted a new training course called Skype for Business: Learning the Basics which will teach users the key Skype for Business activities needed to get started with the solution quickly and easily.
These instructor-led sessions is now available on-demand here . This session will give users everything they will need to get started using Skype for Business.  Topics to be covered will include:

  • Getting Started: Learn the Basics of the Client
  • Starting an Ad Hoc Meeting
  • Scheduling a Meeting
  • Joining a Meeting
  • Presenting in a Meeting

Oct 01

Deployment scripts for Office 2016

Post from the MS Office Blogs on Office 2016 deployment:

Last month, we started a community project to help IT pros with Office client deployments using PowerShell to streamline the process. For more details, see Office Deployment Scripts for IT Pros. A month later, it’s time to check in on some of the new developments with this project. As a reminder, all of the scripts are available on our GitHub repository and released under the MIT license.

Reorganized scripts

For starters, we’ve added a folder structure to help IT pros to find useful scripts quickly and easily. We’ve divided all scripts into different categories including:

  • Preparation
  • Information
  • Deployment
  • Management
  • Updates

By grouping similar scripts together, it’s easier than ever for you to find the one you need.

More documentation

We’ve also added a wiki to the repository that contains useful information designed to provide context for using these scripts in real-world situations. The wiki is your go-to source for all information related to Office IT pro deployment scripts. It holds information explaining completed scripts, upcoming scripts and general information around contributing to the project. So if you are interested in learning about the scripts that are available or learning how to run different scripts, you will now find all of that information in the wiki.

But it’s not all housekeeping; here are some of the new additions to the project.

Office 365 ProPlus Configuration XML Editor

The Notepad is either your tool of choice or a last resort for editing XML files, but without the red squiggly lines we have come to love in Office. If you have ever accidentally typed </congifuration> then the web editor for the Office ProPlus Click-to-Run Configuration.xml file is for you. This web page provides a graphical method to generate and edit the Office Click-to-Run Configuration.xml file.

The Click-to-Run for Office 365 Configuration.xml file is used to specify Click-to-Run installation and update options. The Office Deployment Tool includes a sample Configuration.xml file that can be downloaded. Administrators can modify the Configuration.xml file to configure installation options for Click-to-Run for Office 365 products.

The Click-to-Run Configuration.xml file is a necessary component of the Office Deployment Tool. Click-to-Run customizations are performed primarily by starting the Office Deployment Tool and providing a custom Configuration.xml file. The Office Deployment Tool performs the tasks that are specified by using the optional properties in the configuration file. For the Office 2016 release of the product, administrators can download the Office Deployment Tool from the Microsoft Download Center. We also took advantage of the awesome new Office UI Fabric project to hide our IT professional design sensibilities.

Deployment scripts for Office 2016 1

Reverse engineer your configuration

The Generate-ODTConfigurationXML PowerShell script queries the existing configuration of the target computer and generates the Configuration.xml file for Click-to-Run for Office 365 products. This XML is used with the Office Deployment Tool (ODT) to deploy Office Click-to-Run products. This script dynamically generates a Configuration.xml file to either install new or modify existing Office Click-to-Run deployments. This script is particularly useful when trying to deploy Office 365 ProPlus in environments where different languages are required. It allows you to dynamically configure Office based on the languages that are currently in use on the computer. More information can be found in the README.

Deployment scripts for Office 2016 2

Putting it all together

The Deploy-OfficeClicktoRun solution uses several scripts from the GitHub repository to create a complete solution to deploying Office Click-to-Run. The solution uses the Generate-ODTConfigurationXML function to generate the Configuration XML based on the current configuration of the user’s computer. It then uses the Edit-OfficeConfigurationFile functions to modify the Configuration XML to the desired state. Finally, it will utilize the Install-OfficeClicktoRun to install or modify Office Click-to-Run.

There are several examples in the folder that show different approaches:

  • Example Script 1: ExampleDeployGeneric.ps1—Provides an example on how to use the deployment scripts in one script to provide a solution for deploying Office Click-to-Run.
  • Example Script 2: ExampleDeployWithOfficeFilter.ps1—Provides an example on how to use the deployment scripts in one script to provide a solution for deploying Office Click-to-Run, which includes an example on providing custom configuration based on the location of the workstation in Active Directory.

More information can be found in the README.

Deployment scripts for Office 2016 3

Fallback to the CDN for updating mobile PCs

The Update-Office365Anywhere function is designed to provide a way for Office Click-to-Run clients to have the ability to update themselves from a managed network source or from the Internet, depending on availability of the primary update source. Setting the Office Click-to-Run update source to a local network source reduces the Internet traffic. However, mobile workers, who may not be in the office, may not get their PC updated. This script detects if the configured update source is available, and if it isn’t, it will update from the Internet. The script also has the ability to monitor the progress of the update and block the script from exiting until the update has completed. More information can be found in the README.

Deployment scripts for Office 2016 4

Get involved!

We strongly recommend that you check back often, as the existing scripts continue to evolve and new scripts are added on a regular basis. We would also like to hear from you on some of the current challenges you face with deployment and how we might be able to help by automating steps. Feel free to post your feedback and ideas on the Office 365 Network.

As a reminder, anyone is welcome to contribute to the Office IT Pro deployment scripts GitHub project, but we ask that you clone the Development branch to create a feature branch where you can make changes to existing scripts or create new ones. Information on contributing to the project can be found in this README.

Thanks for taking the time to catch up on the latest with this project. We hope that you will take advantage of these scripts and help us continue to improve on what is out there.

—Alistair Speirs, senior operations program manager for the Office Deployment team

 

Source: MS Blogs