KB3000850 November 2014 update rollup for Windows 8.1

The November 2014 update rollup for Windows RT 8.1, Windows 8.1, and Windows Server 2012 R2 resolves issues, and includes performance and reliability improvements. With more than 700MB this update  rollup includes the following new features and improvements:

Refreshed language packs

Defence-in-depth security and Schannel hardening

Support for newer hardware (boot order allowance, SD card improvements, USB debugging)

Improved Web Services for Devices (WSD) printer support during network switches

Performance and reliability improvements in clustered virtual machine mission-critical environments

Improved manageability

Additional hardware support (devices that have third-party disk encryption software enabled can now be upgraded to Windows 8.1 more easily). More information about this update here.

Ars Technica, this is NOT news, nothing to do with Windows today

NOT news at all. Besides, this is a Windows XP screenshot!

Ars Technica, caterer to the "alpha geeks" technologists and IT professionals, published today this article which may be misleading specially for some unsuspecting Windows users who don't know better. First of all, the whole article is mostly dedicated to explain "how broken the widely used MD5 hashing algorithm is" that is, the cryptographic mechanism to provide some assurance that a transferred file (read, downloaded software, update, etc.) has arrived intact. Secondly, this is old news under the guise of breaking news (?); something that happened in 2012 and 2007, according to the article. Just read about this subject in a Wikipedia article citing that "in 2012, according to Microsoft, the authors of the Flame malware used an MD5 collision to forge a Windows code-signing certificate" and the issue goes back to 1996 (!). And how is this "news" related to Amazon Cloud, again? Last, BUT NOT LEAST, the flashy screenshot corresponds to the phased out Windows XP (!). Obviously you can always find flaws in old software, but that is not news!

How to start Windows 10 from a virtual hard disk

Figure 1. A virtual hard disk as a new choice in the boot menu.

So you decided to install the Windows 10 Technical Preview in a Hyper-V virtual machine and now you want to boot your computer directly into that virtual machine (Figure 1). So here is how. You simply use, as an administrator, the command line BCDboot tool (bcdboot.exe) located in the C:\Windows\system32 folder. BCD, as you may know, stands for Boot Configuration Data and it is the "store" that contains boot configuration parameters and controls how the operating system is started (since Windows Vista) replacing the old and less sophisticated boot.ini file. See the BCDboot command-line options. What BCDboot does is simply to copy critical boot files to the system partition and to create a new system BCD store entry (Figure 2). In my particular case, I had the virtual disk in the G: partition . All I had to do was to mount it. How? Select the disk and then, in the File Explorer "Manage" section of the Ribbon (now highlighted with "Disc Image Tools" on the top bar), click on "Mount" to the left (you will have to provide the administrator password. The system will assign a new letter to this drive, say J (this has nothing to do with where the actual virtual disk is located). Then in the command line run bcdboot J:\Windows. That's all there is to it. In a MSDN blog entry, explaining the difference between BCDboot and BCDedit (the other command to manage the BCD store) you can find detailed instructions. The result is what you see below. You need not worry about the new mounted drive. The next time you reboot the system will unmount it.



Figure 2. A new BCD store entry to include a VHDX

Windows 10 Tech Preview: upgrading to build 9860

These 2 updates get the Build 9860

Only a few weeks after the release of "the Most Audacious Release in the History of the Platform", according to Paul Thurrott, in his Supersite for Windows, along came the first updates. These updates may show up in the usual Windows Update section of the Control Panel as a surprise. I did not see them when they were announced early this week but I knew it was a matter of waiting. I'd tried PC settings / Update and Recovery to no avail.  Noteworthy it's the new Notifications Center (as in the Windows Phone 8.1) which now apparently come together with the old Action Center. Other features include custom visual effects while navigating the desktop and using applications, and the rest seem to be bug fixes, under the hood. More details here at ExtremeTech.com.

Windows 7 + Windows 8 = Windows 10

Windows 10 Technical Preview running under Windows 8.1

Being an early adopter, as I am, I have now a full installation of Windows 10 Technical Preview running under Hyper-V in a virtual machine (probably the safest way to give it a try) within Windows 8.1 (which I started using back in 2012).  For a preview version, a work in progress, it is pretty stable, so far, and it runs smoothly with all the familiar features you are accustomed to using both in Windows 7 and Windows 8. Windows 10 has the best of both worlds plus all the goodies of a new release: more frequent updates, more power to developers and regular users and keeping abreast of developments in IT (Cloud, desktop and mobile computing). The most notable feature is the comeback of the "Star Menu" which now neatly incorporates the signature Windows 8 "Tiles" and therefore a more desktop-centric operating system, though you can also use all the touch screen functionality in Windows 8. I feel that now all Windows 7 and Windows 8 users will be on the same page with Windows 10. While I continue playing with this, in my view, great operating system, I will gather more information about features, tips and tricks to share with all of you in my next posts. You can also register as an "insider" to get this software.

It's 10, Windows 10, the Microsoft newest OS proposal

Today, in San Franciso, Microsoft introduced the next iteration of its ubiquitous OS under the moniker of Window 10. Not exactly what the media were suggesting in the previous months to this great event, that is, "Windows 9" as the logical next version to Windows 8. Windows 10 will be available by late 2015 and it will (as quoted by The Verge) "run across an incredibly broad set of devices – from the Internet of Things, to servers in enterprise datacenters worldwide. Some of these devices have 4 inch screens – some have 80 inch screens – and some don’t have screens at all. Some of these devices you hold in your hand, others are ten feet away. Some of these devices you primarily use touch/pen, others mouse/keyboard, others controller/gesture – and some devices can switch between input types." From my viewpoint it's simply a wonderful remake of Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 plus all the good things of a universal OS running on different devices, with different form factors, tightly integrated to the Cloud. We, enthusiasts, are waiting on tenterhooks to sign up for the Windows Insider Program, not yet released as of this time.

Search through your Internet Explorer bookmarks the easy way

Internet Explorer is one of my favorite Web Navigators, but it has always lacked a decent and practical "bookmark manager" like the one that comes with Firefox. However, since IE bookmarks are directly attached to your Windows profile you can easily search through your bookmarks, a task that otherwise can become unwieldy since you can easily accumulate hundreds of bookmarks. To find where your IE bookmarks are located do this: 1) Press the Windows Key (left to the ALT key) and the R key simultaneously, which will open the Run utility; 2) In the text box labeled Open type: %HOMEPATH% and then click OK or hit Enter; 3)This will open the current user profile folder C:\Users\YourUserName\, where you should look for a subfolder called Favorites, where bookmarks are organized into folders and subfolders and each link is a file in the form of an Internet Shortcut (.url). Besides, this allows you to organize and re-organize them to your heart's content. Once you get to the Favorites folder you can search by typing key words into the text box with the grayed text that reads "Search Favorites", on the right-hand side of the window. Bingo! By double-clicking on each one of the results you can jump directly onto that particular Web page you had bookmarked.  A little piece of trivia: the Favorites Bar, the one that includes your most visited Websites, for some reason is stored in your system under the C:\Users\YourUserName\Favorites\Links subfolder but it appears in the File Explorer as Favorites Bar.

Microsoft revives WinHEC, closer to where the action is

In order to bring the hardware engineering community together in one place, providing a unique opportunity to interact with technical and business experts from Microsoft, other partners, and customers, facilitating exchange of ideas, best practices, and opportunities, Microsoft recently announced the return of WinHEC. The Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) used to be held every year in the US, but now it will be an international event, with frequent smaller conferences and updates, where even the name has been changed to the Windows Hardware Engineering COMMUNITY. In this regard the audience will continue to be executives, engineering managers, engineers and technical product managers at hardware OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers), ODMs (Original Design Manufacturers), IHVs (Independent Hardware Vendors), and IDHs (Independent Design Houses) but this time it's not just for PC hardware any more, but also smartphone and tablet hardware. The first WinHEC technical conference will be held in Shenzhen, China, on March 2015.. The Shenzhen ecosystem consists of a diverse community of hardware companies covering electrical design, software engineering, integration, manufacturing, and all other aspects of the computing-device supply chain.

Tools for IT professionals: Windows ADK, WPR and WPA

All of the tools that you need to customize, assess, and deploy Windows operating systems to new computers are included in The Windows® Assessment and Deployment Kit (Windows ADK) and the likely scenarios are: assess quality on one or more computers, deploy Windows to many computers, review application compatibility, migrate user data and manage licenses. The Windows ADK comes with the Windows® Performance Recorder (WPR), which is a performance recording tool that is based on Event Tracing for Windows (ETW). It records system events that you can then analyze by using Windows® Performance Analyzer (WPA). The file to be analyzed is a "Event Trace Log" kind of file with the extension .etl, for instance, COMPUTERNAME.09-10-2014.22-22-38.etl . You can download WPR by visiting http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=293840. These are extremely sophisticated tools, a geek's delight. Take a look to WPA in action here.

Posterpedia: the big picture of MS technologies

Posterpedia is an interactive app (for Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8) that uses technical posters as a reference for understanding Microsoft technologies. This graphical, easy to understand format, links directly to Microsoft TechNet and Microsoft MSDN content. Remember those huge and neat paper posters that started circulating about a decade ago with Visual Studio and .NET technologies? Well, this is the same proposition in a digital and more manageable format. Visit http://www.serverposterpedia.com/, though you could also get them individually in PDF format. This wonderful and useful collection of posters is broken down by Microsoft products: Windows Server (11 posters), SQL Server (3), Business Intelligence (1), Solutions (15), Exchange Server (5), Lync Server (2), System Center (1), Microsoft Azure (10), Office (2), SharePoint Server (23), etc.

Chocolatey brings you a Linux "apt-get-like" command in Windows

Chocolatey NuGet—as in "chocolate nougat" (!)— is a Machine Package Manager, somewhat like apt-get, but built with Windows in mind. NuGet is libraries installed locally for projects, whereas Chocolatey is applications installed globally for your whole system, as Scott Hanselman pointed in his article "Is Windows user ready for apt-get?." I ran into this interesting tool while browsing for help about SysInternals, advanced system utilities and technical information for Windows power users, since 1996 (!). What I found was how to install SysInternals using the OneGet Module in PowerShell version 5.0.9740.0 (as of today). With OneGet you can 1) Manage a list of software repositories in which packages can be searched, acquired, and installed 2) Search and filter your repositories to find the packages you need, and 3) Seamlessly install and uninstall packages from one or more repositories with a single PowerShell command.
First, I had to update PowerShell by installing the Windows Management Framework V5 Preview that includes Windows PowerShell Desired State Configuration (DSC), and 2 new features in the form of the cmdlets OneGet and NetworkSwitch. Once you install this Framework, in PowerShell type the command $host to verify the version number and other geeky information.

1. Once you installed the PowerShell update, import the module with the command Import-Module -Name OneGet. To list all the commands available with OneGet type Get-Command -Module OneGet. One of them is Find-Package, which will give you a list of packages ready to be installed (it's a long list!). To use the latter again, invoke the former command.
2. However, in this example we just want to install the SysInternals package, which we do with the command Find-Package SysInternals | Install-Package. You may get a message saying "Installing 'SysInternals' from untrusted source". If so, type "y" and then Enter.
3. If you get an error message related to 'running scripts disabled in this system', you have to change the script execution policy to "unrestricted". Obviously, you will do this if you trust the package being installed. Type the command Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope CurrentUser Unrestricted. For security reasons change it back to "Restricted" once you have installed the package. To find out what is the execution policy in place type Get-ExecutionPolicy.
4. To verify the installation type Get-Package SysInternals, which will show version, status ('installed'), source and summary. If you just type Get-Package, you will get a list of all the packages installed using Chocolatey.
5. To use SysInternals, type the command cd c:\tools\sysinternals, which is the default folder where it is installed, then type dir *.exe to get a list of all the programs/tools available.The script (chocolateyInstall.ps1) in charge of the installation can be found at C:\Chocolatey\lib\sysinternals.2014.05.13\tools. All scripts for installed packages will have their own subfolder within the "lib" folder.
6. If you like further explanations, read Mike F. Robbins' how to install Software with the OneGet Module in PowerShell version 5.

It's really easy: Running old screensavers in Windows 8.1

Three of my favorite Windows screensavers.

Two of my favorite screensavers in Windows Vista were Aurora and Windows Energy and later The Matrix, based on the movie, with that impressive and definitely cool introductory screen with characters flowing down the screen, like rain. These three screensavers can be found in three .scr files: Aurora.scr, ssBranded.scr and TheMatrix.scr, respectively. Installing them is quite simple: just copy these files into the C:\Windows\System32 folder. Then, right click on the desktop and select "Personalize" or go directly to Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Personalization. You can also find more information here: Windows Vista screensavers in Windows 7 and The Matrix screensaver, a timeless classic.

How to update to Windows Phone 8.1

To install the newest version of Windows Phone 8.1, "a magnificent smartphone platform" according to a rare review by ars technica, requires some steps that at first I couldn't figure out easily. I tried to install it through the free tool Visual Studio Express for Windows Phone, but I was not able to go anywhere (perhaps I was mistaking WP8 with Windows 8.1? I don't know, but it doesn't matter now) yet, I kept trying. Finally, I was able to do it with a free App called Preview for Developers (see icon to the right). Very important to note that "You must meet one of the following three requirements: (a) have an active Windows Phone Dev Center account; (b) have an active App Studio account; OR (c) be running a registered developer device (‘dev unlocked’ phone)" but you should also heed this warning: You CANNOT REVERT to a prior OS version once you have taken an update via this program. Additionally, your phone needs to be connected to a Wi-Fi network and follow, after reading carefully, all the prompts on your phone. The process takes more than an hour (not minutes as indicated!) and a lot of phone restarts. Make sure you don't do it close to midnight if you don't want to stay up late!

The trite 'Linux talk' that, as usual, falls short on real facts

Here  we go again. Another IT expert conjecturing about the (present and) future of the Linux operating system, which by the way, I have always considered a "me-too OS". Whatever Apple and Microsoft have done in decades you can find in Linux KDE and GNOME reproduced, copied, emulated, you name it, at least when it comes to GUI design, functionality and even keyboard shortcuts. But don't get me wrong here, I am able to appreciate Linux (its many flavors or 'distributions') but what I can't stand is biased or incomplete information about Windows, especially now which is better than ever. The writer explains that "Linux is about to take over the desktop but not like you think it will" by comparing the limited laptop and OS designed by Google known as Chromebook, with Windows, but apparently with Windows XP. And no, Chromebook, which is just another flavor of Linux, is not going to take over anything, given its limitations. For starters, who wants to buy a new laptop computer that only runs a browser, that is, Google Chrome, and that needs to be connected to the Internet all the time to really be useful? Guess what, in a Windows machine Chrome can be one of the many Web browsers and if you want to run Linux, all you have to do is run it in a virtual machine (Hyper-V, VMware, VirtualBox, etc.). I would feel really shortchanged if I had a Chromebook as my working laptop.   His contentions, actually over-generalizations, are laid out in 7 points, which I'm going to refute next to each one:

1. Interface - People don't like Windows 8.x. (?) What people? The interface of Windows 8.x is simply an extra layer in the form of Tiles, the rest of the OS is practically the same as Windows 7, but with added extra functionality and security. If some people don't get the Tiles interface, I seriously doubt about their cognitive ability, especially in this day and age when digital products have been around for more than 2 decades. Even kids can do it.
2. Price - People are tired of the constant hardware, software, and OS upgrade cycle. (?) What people? What do you mean by "constant"? If you actually upgrade you will do it only every few years and all the patches and service packs are always free. Hey, some folks and companies don't even upgrade. They're still using a 13-year old OS called Windows XP—and by the way, complaining about how "bad" Windows is (!)
3. Security - People are tired of viruses, malware, and hacks. (?) What people? That's another of the most widespread misconceptions about Windows. If you are still using Windows XP, and, worse, IE 6, then you certainly deserve to get all the viruses, malware and hacks available. Windows 8.1 is nowadays one of the most secure operating systems. Period. Even Windows 7.
4. Loss - People are tired of losing data when a disk crashes or a device is stolen. (?) What people? You can lose your data when a disk malfunctions or your computer is stolen, regardless of the operating system you are using. The cloud? Not a bad idea, but, I'd rather have my data also at my home in my own computer. And how about making back-up copies regularly? Only fool people get tired of making the same mistakes over and over, or they're fool precisely for that. 
5. Battery Life - Mobile users need longer battery life. (?) That's a very relative issue. It depends on the make and model of your laptop computer. This is sort of a non-issue, on the other hand. Smart people always carry their charger, regardless.
6. Usability - More versatile than a tablet. Less cumbersome than a laptop. (?) Do you really want to talk versatility? A Microsoft Surface tablet beats them all, hands down. A Surface is both a laptop computer and a tablet and allows you to run, without compromises, anything you can run in a laptop or desktop computer, including legacy applications. I think the Google Chrome laptop is not versatile. In a world of choice, why on earth, you want to have a computer that only runs watered-down software from the same company?! Just about any Microsoft Windows computer is really versatile: you install hardware and software from a myriad of vendors. It can be done. What I'm saying here is that the Google Chromebook is limited (it doesn't matter it is a nice piece of hardware). You'll do better with a nice laptop even running just Linux. Besides, by the same price of Chromebook you can get a decent traditional laptop...
7. Browser-based - The future of software is SaaS. The writer may have a point here, but Software as a Service is nothing new. However, I don't see companies or regular folks putting all their eggs on the cloud. This point can be argued at length as an exercise in futility.

My point as usual, in this blog, and in my professional life is: if you don't use Windows and don't know about it thoroughly, please don't spread rumors.  The worse part is that some IT folks are the ones more entrenched on these misconceptions.

  

Windows 8.1 Update 1: I couldn't wait for an automatic update

Announced but missing...

This latest Update 1 was released to the public yesterday, April 8, and we users were advised that it would be installed automatically with the other regular Windows updates. However, I couldn't wait and jumped directly to the Microsoft page labeled Install the latestWindows 8.1 Update, related to the Microsoft Knowledge Base article KB2919355 that describes the Windows RT 8.1, Windows 8.1, and Windows Server 2012 R2 update. I installed the update manually and I like the new enhancements. However, for the strangest of reasons, I missed this time the Star Menu (!). Yes, I always said that this menu is no more that a bunch of shortcuts, that mostly people with little knowledge of the Windows UI and zero knowledge of the keyboard shortcuts (since Windows 95!) love to use. Like many users I was fooled by the preview screenshots that included a brought-back-to-life Start Menu, however one of the TechNet blogs, with excellent information about the whole update, explains: "It does NOT include the Start menu that you may have seen/heard about at the recent Build conference. That is some exciting near-future stuff, which demonstrates our on-going commitment to deliver on customer feedback (such as your comments on this very blog)."

Delta Airlines chose Microsoft Surface tablets over iPads

It is a known fact that tablets in cockpits, mostly iPads, have been around in recent years, however Delta airlines this time bet on Microsoft Surface 2 tablets, 11,000 of them, to be rolled out on all flights by May 2014. In addition, Delta bought 19,000 Nokia Lumia phones outfitted with credit card readers to be used by fly attendants. The whole purpose is to operate paperless flights. How about getting rid of those bulky operation manuals, charts, maps and reportedly saving on fuel costs? It's 2014, after all. Little by little Microsoft tablets are getting all the credit they deserve. One of my favorite sources of business and tech news has the story.

Windows 8 myths — 3. There's a lack of applications

Compared to iPad (the tablet) and the different Android tablets there is no doubt a bigger number of apps available than in the Windows app store. However, we should make the distinction that even if you are running a Windows tablet like the beautiful and extremely functional Surface, in addition to the "metro" apps (the ones running in "tile mode") you can still run millions and millions of the traditional Windows software applications that run in Windows 7 and even in the venerable Windows XP. In sum, you have a number of choices when it comes to Windows 8 apps: desktop apps, like Microsoft Office, new apps for the new Windows 8.x, custom merchandizing apps, and all the Windows store apps.

Windows 8 myths — 2. Computers sales are down because people didn't like Windows 8. Really?!

Computers sales are down for the last couple of years, most notably in 2013, simply because most people (consumers) can do without a PC or any type of computer by just using smartphones or tablets. They have e-mail, text messaging, video, Internet browsing, games (lots of them!) and on top of that the ability to make phone calls, so who needs a laptop computer and much less a desktop computer to do those things? In addition, for a vast number of people around the world a smartphone it is most likely their first experience with a computer and that's all they know and all they need. Computers sales for corporations and businesses will fare slightly better in 2014. Post-PC era? Desktop PCs and laptop computers will continue to be in business for years to come. They're already a commodity.

Windows 8 myths — 1. It's confusing and it has a learning curve

This myth is easily debunked by evidence based on usage. You just have to use it to understand it, and getting the knack of it will take only a few minutes. Remember to also use the Windows key (the one to the left of the ALT key, to the left of the Space key). There is nothing confusing about it unless you cannot wrap your head around the fact that the tiles ("The Star Menu") are simply an extra layer of what otherwise is simply Windows 7. You have the traditional desktop on the one hand and you have the tiles on the other hand, and you can even start Windows directly in "desktop mode" if so you wish. Other than that, whatever you can run in Windows 7 will run in Windows 8.x.  Other visible difference is that Windows 8.x does not include the fancy transparent borders of Windows 7 (or Vista) called "aero effect." Are you missing the traditional "Start Menu"? If you are very fond of it it's probably because you never learned to use shortcuts on the desktop or the convenience of adding shortcuts right onto the Taskbar. Do you still miss it? Try some Windows Start Menu alternatives (I'm not endorsing any of them, though). In addition, whenever you are in the Tiles mode, simply start typing whatever you are looking for and the search box will pop up instantly for you. Please, stop complaining and just type... You can also try these very useful educational videos to get started.

Re/Code, a newer tech news "non-religious", "non-fanboy" site

So it seems. My previous post lamented the blatant proliferation of "dude tech journalism" in which enthusiasts of faddish products and brands openly despise Microsoft products and technologies without even actually trying them on a daily basis. I am, on the other hand, pleased to know that a newer tech news website called <re/code>, founded by former editors of the Wall Street Journal's tech section All Things D(igital) Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg, is the new kid on the block, since January 2, 2014, in what seems like a fresh influx of content and presentation. They and their journalists team continue to include, next to the byline, an ethics statement that starts with exactly the same wording as before: "Here is a statement of my ethics and coverage policies. It is more than most of you want to know, but, in the age of suspicion of the media, I am laying it all out." However, I believe they should also reveal what type of tech tools they use on a daily basis. I have my doubts that, to make an analogy, a regular driver of a German a car like a BMW, could be a good, and fair(!), reviewer of Japanese cars, no matter how good the latter might be compared to the former. Granted, you may like one product over another, but for fairness sake, let people know upfront what your preferences, and 'loyalty', are when you write about "the competition." Among other good things of <re/code> is its policy for a "higher standards for comments", to counter the all so common "trolls", childish comments, unsupported claims, etc. (case in point, the readers of ZdNet, to name a popular tech site). I enjoyed the clever sort of op-ed article by Walt Mossberg about "the Church of Apple" and similar "cults" in which he admonished, not without a good dose of humor, "Attention fanboys and fangirls: Your favorite tech hardware, software and services are not religious objects." On other subjects, I notice that this site is powered by the ubiquitous blog and content management system WordPress. Granted it is a great tool, but was that the right tool for such a content-intensive website? Time will tell.