Vol. 22, #34 - August 21, 2017 - Issue #1145
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This week's newsletter is all about pain vs. gain when it comes to licensing Windows 10 with a special emphasis on small businesses. We also have tips and tools for you to peruse, and I offer a tip in our IT Pro Fitness Corner on how you might avoid getting a hernia or throwing your back out when you do weightlifting exercises. Plus we have all the usual other stuff you look for each week in Your Favorite Newsletter.
Surprisingly, when I search the Dilbert site for the word "hernia" it comes up empty. Doesn't Dilbert ever exercise? I mean, the guy clearly is a bit on the pudgy side, something that's common with that species known as The Male Engineer. Maybe he gets some special belly exercises to relax and strengthen his core muscles the way Catbert did from Tina in the following comic strip (Warning! Suggestive content):
http://www.wservernews.com/go/f1zzpcss/
Special note to readers: We've begun prefixing the title of each issue of this newsletter with "WServerNews" so our subscribers can more easily distinguish between Your Favorite Newsletter and other emails you may be receiving from TechGenix. We've made this small change at the request of a number of our readers and because our new header/footer graphics make WServerNews look similar to other TechGenix newsletters. If you have any other suggestions on how we can improve WServerNews, please don't hesitate to contact us at wsn@mtit.com
Ask Our Readers: WServerNews has almost 100,000 subscribers worldwide. That's a lot of expertise to tap into. Do you need help with some issue or need advice on something IT-related? Got a question you'd like us to toss out to our readers to try and answer? Email us at wsn@mtit.com
Recently in the latest issue of Redmond Magazine there was an article by Ed Bott that caught my attention:
Windows Enterprise Subscriptions Give Small Businesses Headaches
http://www.wservernews.com/go/9a7i61cx/
The subtitle of the article says that "The Windows 10 Fall Creators Update will be packed with the kind of security features that could really help small businesses, but they'll have to become enterprise customers." The new (or improved) security features Bott is referring to are Windows Defender Exploit Guard, Windows Defender Application Guard, Windows Defender Device Guard, and Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection (WDATP). Ed then goes on to say that if you're a business customer who is running Windows 10 Pro then you're out of luck--these new/improved security features will only be available for customers who are running the Enterprise edition of Windows 10.
Now I know a number of small business over the years who have decided to go with Pro over Enterprise versions of Microsoft Windows, the reason simply being that it's easier for them to purchase retail copies of Windows when they need them instead of signing up with Microsoft's volume licensing program which until Windows 10 had been targeted towards large enterprises. Volume licensing pretty much seems like overkill for small businesses who only need a dozen or so copies of Windows. Small businesses also generally don't really need those enterprise-level extra bells and whistles like the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) for Software Assurance which is available as a free download from the Microsoft Volume Licensing website (MVLS) for volume-licensed customers who may need it. And finally, I think smaller businesses in general tend to be leery about signing anything with a company the size of Microsoft as it usually requires pricking their finger to draw forth some blood.
What's really interesting though is how Ed digs a bit deeper into Windows 10 licensing in his article and points out that unlike previous versions of Windows, getting the Enterprise edition of Windows 10 no longer requires entering into a volume licensing agreement with Microsoft. Instead you can now purchase Windows 10 Enterprise on an as-needed basis one license at a time--but not from Microsoft.
What?? I can buy an Office 365 subscription directly from Microsoft. I can also buy a Microsoft Azure subscription directly from Microsoft. But I can't buy a copy of Windows 10 Enterprise from Microsoft??
Yes that's right. If you want to buy one or more licenses for Windows 10 Enterprise for your small business, you need to purchase these from a Microsoft Certified Partner--you can't purchase them from Microsoft itself. Now from the point of view of keeping your Partner Network happy, I can understand this decision from Microsoft's point of view. But as Ed describes from his own experience trying to buy a single license for Windows 10 Enterprise from a well-known Microsoft Certified Partner, it can often be painful and frustrating from the small business customer's point of view. So while small businesses can provision new Microsoft cloud services "at the speed of the cloud" this unfortunately doesn't seem to be true as far as provisioning new installations of Windows 10 Enterprise are concerned.
Unless of course you slice off the end of your finger and smear it on that piece of parchment you downloaded from the Microsoft Volume Licensing website. This approach may cost more for your small business but at least it won't leave you waiting for your Partner to give you what you paid them for.
What do our readers think about how Microsoft licenses Windows 10? Email us at wsn@mtit.com
Just when you start debating about whether to replace your Windows 10 Pro installations with Windows 10 Enterprise in order to take advance of the new security features coming in Enterprise edition, Microsoft jumps in to muddy the waters even further by announcing a new edition of Windows 10 that will soon be delivered as part of their Fall Creators Update. The new edition is called Windows 10 Pro for Workstations and it will be a high-end version of Windows 10 Pro that's designed for high-performance hardware. Windows 10 Pro for Workstations will also include faster file sharing, persistent memory, and the Resilient File System (ReFS). You can read more about it here:
http://www.wservernews.com/go/yjnqb6x6/
But will it include those extra security features that Enterprise edition will have? Not that I am aware of--maybe Microsoft will release a Windows 10 Enterprise for Workstations edition soon as well. Who knows?
Got feedback about anything in this issue of WServerNews? Email us at wsn@mtit.com
Microsoft Tech Community: Windows 10 Security
Got questions or concerns you want to discuss with your peers about Windows 10 security features? Start a new thread in the Windows 10 Security forum of the Microsoft Tech Community:
http://www.wservernews.com/go/thqu33f7/
SharePoint Hybrid series
In this nine-course SharePoint Hybrid series taught by expert Neil Hodgkinson (who co-wrote the accompanying e-books), learn about the planning and preparation required to help you along your journey to the cloud, from SharePoint on-premises to SharePoint Hybrid and beyond to Office 365. Bring your SharePoint Admin experience and explore Office 365 Core Onboarding, OneDrive for Business, and Extensible App Launcher. See the power of search, taxonomy, and self-service site creation, and more. Get started!
http://www.wservernews.com/go/x2iyw7hf/
Plyometrics and core strength (Your Editor)
I like doing explosive (plyometric) exercises from time to time in my workouts. For example I might grab a pair of 30 lb dumbbells, bend over, and do lateral raises really fast repeatedly until my arms feel like they're ready to fly out of my shoulder sockets. I also like picking up 40 lb dumbbells and doing close upright rows with them explosively until my traps and rhomboids feel like they're ready to rip my spine apart.
What I've discovered however is that I can seriously tweak my back with these two exercises if I do them both explosively and with heavy weights. I could try to be more careful of course, but that would probably mean slowing down a lot and doing the exercises more deliberately instead of explosively. But that takes all the fun out of doing them.
Fortunately I've found an answer that works for me at least, and that's to take preventative action by strengthening my core muscles and keeping my core as tight as possible while performing these exercises. Keeping a tight core when I do anything plyometric seems to offer me greater reassurance of stability which translates into greater control despite the relatively uncontrolled nature of performing plyometric exercises.
And as for exercises for general strengthening of your core muscles, by far the best program I've found for developing strong core muscles is the one Paul Collins outlines in his terrific book called Core Strength which is available in Kindle edition from Amazon here:
http://www.wservernews.com/go/vlnkpb73/
Anyways, I highly recommend this and other books by Paul as he truly seems to understand the idea of progressive improvement when it comes to developing your muscles in some fashion. You can read more about Paul here:
http://www.wservernews.com/go/ngzow0tx/
http://www.wservernews.com/go/q5mo1ub1/
http://www.wservernews.com/go/dj8m28he/
What do you do to keep your core musculature strong and stable? Email me at wsn@mtit.com with your tips.
Disclaimer: I'm not a certified fitness professional or nutritionist so take any suggestions made here "as is" with a grain of salt and a heaping supply of your own judgment. Help other readers of this newsletter lose weight and get fit by sending your own weightloss and/or fitness tips to us at wsn@mtit.com
Last week's factoid and question was this:
LED light bulbs may cause headaches in some individuals. What are your own feelings about LED lighting? Have you experienced anything negative when using LED light bulbs instead of incandescent ones? Do you have any health concerns about using them in your home or workplace?
Unfortunately that question seems to have left everyone in the dark, so let's move on to this week's factoid:
Fact: There are 100,000 more bicycles in Amsterdam than there are people.
Source: http://www.wservernews.com/go/0g6wxcct/
Question: Do you think it's a good idea for cities to spend money on modifying their transportation infrastructures to make them more bike-friendly? Personally I feel somewhat ambivalent about this issue which is something that's happening right now on a main road near where we live here in Winnipeg, Canada. On the one hand I think it's great that people who want to cycle to work or school will be able to do so with less worries about getting sideswiped by a careless automobile driver. On the other hand however, the amount of money it takes our city to rip up roads so they can widen them to add a bike lane is enormous if you measure it by the number of people who will actually be using these bike lines. So instead of my property taxes going to filling potholes and killing mosquitos, a good chunk of it is going to building something that only a miniscule percentage of our citizens will be using. Is that fair? I don't know--as I said I feel ambivalent about this--but I'd be interested in hearing what other WServerNews readers think about this matter.
Email your answer to us at: wsn@mtit.com
Until next week,
Mitch Tulloch
GOT ADMIN TOOLS or other software/hardware you'd like to recommend? Email us at wsn@mtit.com
1 in 5 businesses hit by ransomware are forced to close. Is your company prepared for a ransomware attack? Veriato RansomSafe™ acts as a vital layer in your ransomware defense, combining just-in-time data protection with multiple mechanisms to detect, and shut down attacks before they hold your business hostage.
http://www.wservernews.com/go/xl74dybw/
Veriato RansomSafe acts as a vital layer in your ransomware defense, combining just-in-time data protection with multiple mechanisms to detect, and shut down attacks before they hold your business hostage.
http://www.wservernews.com/go/2n1xqwrp/
Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows comes with a simple and powerful API that lets you deploy and configure the software via any deployment tool of your choice. Download Free Trial.
http://www.wservernews.com/go/d01p98yj/
This PowerShell function works like the At.exe command and allows you to execute commands at a later time:
http://www.wservernews.com/go/wvoxcplp/
PS2EXE lets you "convert" PowerShell scripts into EXE files:
http://www.wservernews.com/go/2dq9k08u/
Exchange Client Network Bandwidth Calculator has been designed to help anyone planning an Exchange Server deployment to predict the network bandwidth requirements for a specific set of clients:
This morning I received the following email from someone I don't know:
Just came across this article. Worked perfectly, thanks! Keep up the good work, Leon
I thought at first it might be spam until I looked at the subject of the email and saw this:
Internet Explorer not remembering last window size
Aha, I thought, this guy must be referring to a tip I posted a while back to the Admin Knowledge Base of our old WindowsNetworking.com website. Sure enough, after googling the subject I found the tip here:
http://www.wservernews.com/go/aix1crjb/
I'm telling you this here because I want readers to know about this KBase which still exists on our old site and has more than 5,000 tips on various Windows and Windows Server topics you may be interested in browsing. Here's the main page for our KBase:
http://www.wservernews.com/go/qmkerljg/
We're no longer updating this KBase but there are still lots of tips there you may find useful today and for several years to come. Happy browsing :-)
TechNet's Tip of the Day site has a great post by Shannon Green on how you can use Process Monitor to measure the reboot and logon times of a Windows system:
http://www.wservernews.com/go/u9sq4osh/
Tim McMichael has posted a helpful tip on his blog that explains how to use PowerShell to view and configure auto reply settings for an Exchange Online mailbox:
http://www.wservernews.com/go/664d8szx/
Do you know of any other IT conferences or events that you think readers of this newsletter might be interested in knowing about? Email us at wsn@mtit.com with the name, date, and location of the event along with the event URL.
Experts Live Europe on August 23-25, 2017 in Berlin, Germany
http://www.wservernews.com/go/tf49as0b/
Microsoft Ignite on September 25-29, 2017 in Orlando, Florida
http://www.wservernews.com/go/e055shs3/
IT/Dev Connections on October 23-26, 2017 in San Francisco, California
http://www.wservernews.com/go/x6bwr38a/
SharePoint Unite on October 24-26, 2017 in Haarlem, Netherlands
http://www.wservernews.com/go/9y19lpow/
DEVintersection on October 31 - November 2, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada
http://www.wservernews.com/go/37n16qm7/
European SharePoint, Office 365 & Azure Conference on November 13-16, 2017 in Dublin, Ireland
http://www.wservernews.com/go/vadl74v5/
SharePoint Fest on December 609, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois
http://www.wservernews.com/go/ryz088re/
PLANNING A CONFERENCE OR OTHER EVENT you'd like to tell our 100,000 subscribers about? Contact info@techgenix.com
Azure Managed Applications now available in Marketplace, Service Catalog
Azure Managed Applications allows vendors to sell infrastructure and software through the Marketplace and also provide support to Azure customers.
http://www.wservernews.com/go/rg0c32lr/
Google-Nutanix partnership adds benefits to hybrid cloud deployments
A new linkup between Google and Nutanix offers great benefits for enterprises with hybrid cloud deployments. Here's more on the Google-Nutanix partnership.
http://www.wservernews.com/go/yp3xh7la/
Tightening up Windows 10 security settings
Windows 10 security settings are strong out of the box. But there are a few things that might poke a hole in that veil. Here's how to boost your security.
http://www.wservernews.com/go/5la02nzb/
Taking Microsoft Planner for a spin in an Agile environment
More and more businesses are adopting Agile planning for small and medium-size projects. That is where Microsoft Planner comes in.
http://www.wservernews.com/go/osr1kz9i/
New possibilities for hybrid cloud environments: Microsoft Azure Stack is ready to order
Finally out of technical preview, Microsoft Azure Stack is ready to order. The tool can unlock new possibilities for hybrid cloud environments.
http://www.wservernews.com/go/3z4bd7ip/
Moving from Exchange 2010 to Office 365 Part II
From the blog of Jaap Wesselius
http://www.wservernews.com/go/m0hr0yi4/
Choosing the right sign-in option to connect to Azure AD & Office 365
From the blog of Samuel Devasahayam
http://www.wservernews.com/go/ean6121s/
How to create an profile that uses MAPI/HTTP in Outlook 2013
From the blog For lack of a better word
http://www.wservernews.com/go/ad6u8eym/
Assigning Office 365 Licenses Automatically
From the Ask PFE Platforms blog
http://www.wservernews.com/go/9vg989ci/
Navigation articles for Office 365 Security & Compliance content
By Joe Davies from the blog of the Cloud Adoption Advisory Board (CAAB)
http://www.wservernews.com/go/atzxagxy/
Apple WWDC 2017: Here are the enterprise management updates for iOS 11
iOS 11 has some great new mobile device management features. Inside you'll find a list of some of those features as well as the news from Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference this year.
http://www.wservernews.com/go/cav2zdd9/
How to approach and resolve Windows 10 update problems
Windows 10 update problems are relatively common. When users run into these problems, admins must identify the causes, which can include connectivity disruptions and mishaps with the System Reserved partition. Find out how to resolve these problems here!
http://www.wservernews.com/go/5zc8fd5w/
IT copes with changing identity management market
Identity and access management tools are critical today, as companies seek ways to handle users' distributed resources. IT shops have tough choices in an evolving market and must consider the pros and cons of choosing small, stand-alone providers versus larger vendors.
http://www.wservernews.com/go/bz7r0mdm/
Innovation lowers converged and hyper-converged infrastructure costs
Thanks to the ever-shrinking cost of all-flash storage and hardware-accelerated graphics, converged and hyper-converged infrastructures are a mainstay in the VDI conversation.
http://www.wservernews.com/go/ge0pjmnc/
GOT FUN VIDEOS or other fun links to suggest you'd like to recommend? Email us at wsn@mtit.com
Perfecting The 9 To 5 Work Routine
These people have spent years perfecting their work day to be as productive as possible with amazing results:
http://www.wservernews.com/go/9tl6afw4/
If you watch the news, you may think that the world is becoming less safe. You may be pleasantly surprised when you look at the real facts:
http://www.wservernews.com/go/iepncvq5/
Optical Illusion Magic Tricks
How did he do it? How did it disappear? Richard Wiseman reveals his optical illusion magic tricks:
http://www.wservernews.com/go/fg5x9w98/
David Attenborough Meets The Biggest Animal Ever To Walk On Earth
In this 360 degree video, David Attenborough introduces us to the World's largest dinosaur, which was 122 feet long and weighed as much as Boeing 737:
http://www.wservernews.com/go/tharvwbl/
WServerNews - EditorsMitch Tulloch is Senior Editor of WServerNews and is a widely recognized expert on Windows administration, deployment and virtualization. Mitch was lead author of the bestselling Windows 7 Resource Kit and has been author or series editor for almost fifty books mostly published by Microsoft Press. Mitch is also a ten-time recipient of Microsoft's Most Valuable Professional (MVP) award for his outstanding contributions in support of the global IT pro community. Mitch owns and runs an information technology content development business based in Winnipeg, Canada. For more information see www.mtit.com. Ingrid Tulloch is Associate Editor of WServerNews and was co-author of the Microsoft Encyclopedia of Networking from Microsoft Press. Ingrid is also manages research and marketing for our content development business and has co-developed university-level courses in Information Security Management for a Masters of Business Administration program. |
