Month: October 2013

Nokia Launches A Windows RT Tablet

In addition to 2 new Windows Phone tablets, Nokia launched “Sirius” which is officially called the Lumia 2520.  This is a Windows RT tablet.  On first impressions:

  • It looks much nicer than Surface 2
  • The camera looks impressive, even if it’s not a patch on what Nokia puts in the phones
  • Yes it is more expensive than Surface, but that’s because it includes an LTE modem, which usually adds $100 to the cost of a tablet.

All looks good but:

  • It runs Windows RT.  It might has well have a MIPS processor IMO.  I reckon Windows RT will be dead within 12-18 months of Ballmer leaving Microsoft, probably replaced by a rebranded Windows Phone on ARM devices (phones to 8” tablets).
  • It only has 32 GB storage.  Remember, that was the Surface RT that no one wanted, not that many wanted a Surface RT to begin with.  32 GB is just too small.  Nokia has a bad habit of screwing the pooch on storage, e.g. the Lumia 925 only has 16 GB.  And no, SkyDrive does not make up for this shortcoming.  LTE/3G is not omnipresent.
  • The keyboard cover is u-g-l-y.  Why the frak can’t they (Microsoft and Nokia) learn from the past and just do a clamshell keyboard that works, unlike the non-hinged unusable and space-inefficient stuff they repetitively throw at us?  The Nokia cover looks like one of those iPad covers from 3 years ago.
  • The Surface organisation will kill the Lumia tablet in a few months when MSFT gets the OK to take over Nokia.
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And Surface 2 Is GA … Sort Of

The second generation of Surface has gone live.  Surface RT becomes Surface 2 (Windows RT 8.1) and Surface Pro is Surface Pro 2 (Windows 8.1 Pro). 

Apparently, Seattle Seahawks ace cornerback, Richard Sherman, wants one. This is him in the Bellevue WA Microsoft Store.  Now I must buy an iPad in revenge!!!

The various Microsoft online stores have updated their range.  Some of the talked about accessories such as the power cover aren’t out until next year.  And the rumoured Surface Mini might not be out until late Spring.

At least distribution is better than it was a year ago.  Yes, the Microsoft brick’n’mortar stores (US only) and online stores (international) are selling the Surface.  A few direct-distribution chains such as BestBuy and PC World (DSG) have rights (though I don’t know if they have the 2 today).  And 5 of the mega-distributors have rights (also don’t know if they have the 2 today).  Sadly, the distributors who have lots of reach in local markets do not have distribution of Surface yet.

This morning (writing this early AM) will also see the launch of the Nokia Windows RT “Sirius” tablet, which I find more interesting than Surface 2, based purely on leaked info.  The presence of cellular (which adds to the cost) makes it more interesting for business uses, I think.

However, the newswires are already filled with iPad-mania.  Apple timed their next-gen launch to crush Microsoft and Nokia.  And it’s working based on what I’m hearing on the radio so far this morning.

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Installing Windows 8.1 And Missing Drivers On Samsung ATIV 500T Tablet

Last week I tried twice to perform the online update of Windows 8.1 on my Samsung ATIV Smart PC 500T.  Twice it failed.  I had the commonly encountered (during the Preview!!!!) issue where the machine would perform the install, including device detection, and then hang on the final boot up with a black screen and busy mouse cursor.  From what I can tell, that’s a graphics drivers (Intel) issue that requires some McGuyver hacking to work around (not fix).  I wanted a clean working machine.

<<<< Here’s where I should say – Don’t be a moron, do the download drivers step that I mention later, BEFORE you wipe the machine.  You will also need a keyboard that physically plugs into the tablet >>>>

So I resorted to deploying Windows 8.1 from an ISO.  The first step was to prep a USB stick that a UEFI machine would like.  And remember, this machine has an x86 processor so a 64-bit build is useless.

The Windows 7 ISO Download Tool will prep a USB stick that only works with BIOS machines.  I needed a FAT32 stick. 

Next I needed to boot the tablet up with the stick.  Turn the machine off, hold in the Volume Up button, and power it up.  This brings you to an advanced startup menu.  I muddled around in here to get the command prompt, browsed to the USB drive (D:), and ran Setup.Exe.  Now I walked through the Windows setup, including wiping all of the existing volumes. 

The first clue that something was wrong was when I was asked to name a new user and set a password.  Huh!?!?  Where was the log into my Microsoft account?  Uh oh, I was missing drivers.  I touched the screen – nada!  I had no touch.  Thank f**k that I bought the keyboard or I’d be royally screwed.

I logged in, ran Device Manager and found, yes, I was missing LOTS of drivers.  Luckily I had a USB wired network adapter.  I plugged it in and went online.

Samsung do not share drivers for this tablet on their site.  The support page had me fearing that I’d bricked the tablet.  But I remembered that the SW Update tool was available to download.  Maybe that would update my device?  I installed SW Update and check for updates.  All that was there were 2 bloatware apps and the touchpad software.  Hmm.

But there was a solution!  This is the solution that I should have run before rebuilding my machine.  It was a rookie mistake, but I’ve become so used to Windows having most, if not all, of drivers out of the box.  But it was a dumb rookie mistake.  Here’s the solution:

1) Run SW Update and click Find Model.

1 Find Model

2) Enter the SKU of the tablet.  A quick google and XE500T1C-A01US worked for me.

2 Find SKU

3) Do not select Windows Blue as the OS.  That only contained the SW Update tool.  Hopefully Samsung will replace that with a populated Windows 8.1 entry.  Instead, I selected Windows 8.

4) Select the drivers.  I did not select the bloatware. 

3 Select Windows 8 Drivers

6) Select a safe download location.  My drivers are now in my Drivers folder on my Storage Spaces share on a Windows 8 tower PC.  Pop them onto a USB stick for handy access after rebuilding your tablet.

7) Install the drivers after rebuilding the machine.

Let me remind you: PLEASE DOWNLOAD THE DRIVERS BEFORE REBUILDING THE MACHINE.

AND DO NOT REBUILD THE MACHINE WITHOUT A PLUGGED IN KEYBOARD, either USB or the clamshell keyboard that this machine sometimes is sold with.

The machine is fully working now.  I associated my Microsoft account, moved SkyDrive to the MicroSD card, and relocated My Documents to the same folder.

It’s such a pity that the online Windows 8.1 upgrade did not work.  I wonder how many retail consumers will get “bricked” by this?

Windows Azure Pack (WAP)

Formerly known as Windows Azure Services for Windows Server (a mouthful and not very meaningful), the Windows Azure Pack has been released with Windows Server and System Center 2013 R2.  The goal of WAP is to bring the portal of Windows Azure, Microsoft’s public cloud, to the clouds of service providers and even on-premise private clouds.  With WAP you can deploy the difficult to obtain trait of a cloud: self-service.

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There appears to be a lot of information on WAP out there now.

Virtualisation Momentum Shifted – VMware Versus Microsoft

I just saw a picture that (Microsoft executive) Brad Anderson tweeted that was taken last Thursday at the IPExpo event in the UK.

This is where a Tad fanboy will proclaim that no big company really uses Hyper-V.  Let me tell you of my experiences in the UK.

1 year ago I presented at the UK launch of WS2012 in London.  There were 1,000 people in the room.  Outside our MVP lead set up a couple of white boards for MVPs to answer what we thought might be one or two questions.  I personally had people from Fortune 500’s (and I never name names in these scenarios) come up to me and say they now wanted to make the switch, and wanted to learn how.

Last month I spoke at an MVP event, again in London, and once again, large companies filled the room.  But what really caught my attention was one particular company.  This is a very successful and internationally renowned company that operates on the extreme edges of performance.  One could almost say they work in a life and death business where milliseconds are the difference between success and being out of business.  They use Hyper-V.

I’m not saying this has been easy.  The program managers, architects, developers and testers of the product, the Microsoft field staff, all have done amazing work.  Folks in the community, such as us MVPs, stood on stages in the early days and took abuse for 40-75 minutes while we told people what was coming.

Market share you say?  Yes, VMware still leads, but that lead is shrinking.  It’s just a matter of time now.

Microsoft Remote Desktop Is Also Available For Android And Updated For Mac OS X

Yesterday we heard about iOS getting an official Microsoft Remote Desktop (RemoteFX) app.  Today, I found that a version was also released for Android.

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Features include:

  • Access to remote resources through your Remote Desktop Gateway
  • Rich multi-touch experience with remote desktop protocol (RDP) and RemoteFX supporting Windows gestures
  • Secure connection to your data and applications with breakthrough Network Layer Authentication (NLA) technology
  • Simple management of all remote connections from the connection center
  • High quality video and sound streaming with improved compression and bandwidth usage

I tried it out.  It works.  My high-res desktop looks tiny on my HTC One phone, but the zoom option makes is useful for quick operations.  This would be a much better experience on a 10” tablet.

For Mac OS X (10.6.0 or later) have been able to get an old version of Remote Desktop with Microsoft Office for Mac.  I read on MacRumours that there is an updated version offering:

  • Access to remote resources through the Remote Desktop Gateway
  • Secure connection to your data and applications with breakthrough Network Layer Authentication (NLA) technology
  • Simple management of all remote connections from the connection center
    High quality video and sound streaming with improved compression and bandwidth usage
  • Easy connection to multiple monitors or projectors for presentations
  • Print from Windows applications to any printer configured on your Mac
  • Access local files on your Mac from your Windows applications

I know nothing about the upgrade process for Mac users.

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Day 1 of General Availability – Windows 8.1 Is Not Here

A bit of link baiting never hurt anyone :)  While I suspect that Windows 8 to Windows 8.1 upgrades flew of the “shelves” in the Microsoft Store over the last 22 hours, it seems that the retail presence is … well …

This morning at PC World, Carrickmines, Dublin, Ireland.

I decided that I’d start of at the PC World branch in south Dublin that opens at 9am.  This store is just 5 miles from the Microsoft European Operations Centre, also one of the locations where Windows/Office/Azure/etc are developed, and the office of Microsoft Ireland.  Last year, for Windows 8, the two stores (also “ChainB”) in this park had a Microsoft presence here.  I thought it would be a good place to start.

I drove in at about 09:15 and I was greeted by the above signage. 

Windows 8 is here.

Odds are Microsoft paid for that signage in some way.  That’s how these things are done in retail – it seems mad to me that a store will not advertise its own stock without being paid by the manufacturer but that’s how it is.  But at the very least, couldn’t they have painted a “.1” on this sign?!?!?!

OK, maybe it was a weather or timing thing.  I walked inside.  This is one of the better laid out electronics stores in the country so I had high hopes.  Lots and lots of … Windows 8 machines, most of which were launched at IFA over a year ago in 2012.  There was not a single Windows 8.1 device in the store.  OK, let’s have a look at the boxed Windows product … and it was all Windows 8.1.

Note: There are no SKUs for a Windows 8.1 “upgrade”.  That means you have two choices to get from Windows 7 to Windows 8.1:

  • Pay for the full priced Windows 8.1 media.
  • Buy the Windows 8 upgrade, upgrade your machine, and then use your free Windows 8-to-8.1 upgrade rights from the Windows Store to do a second upgrade.

I abandoned plans to visit ChainB because they have a reputation for stocking older stuff.

No lessons learned.  Here we go again.  Once again manufacturers will bitch about Windows.  Once again there will be no supply until February.  Sigh!

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Microsoft Releases Remote Desktop For Apple iOS

You don’t need pricey third party RDP apps anymore.  Microsoft has finally released a Remote Desktop app for iPhone and iPad.  The features are:

  • Access to remote resources through the Remote Desktop Gateway
  • Rich multi-touch experience with remote desktop protocol (RDP) and RemoteFX supporting Windows gestures
  • Secure connection to your data and applications with breakthrough Network Layer Authentication (NLA) technology
  • Simple management of all remote connections from the connection center
  • High quality video and sound streaming with improved compression and bandwidth usage
  • Easy connection to external monitors or projectors for presentations

The price is good: free.  And all the gesture stuff works – now I don’t feel stupid for swiping from the right on an iPad 🙂

IMAG0097 An abomination: Windows 8.1 “running” on an Apple iPad

Source: Wes Miller (@getwired).

EDIT:

Microsoft also released the Microsoft Remote Desktop app for Android and updated it for Mac OS X.

Time To Revisit The Retailers To See If Things Have Changed

A year ago on the first day of Windows 8 general availability, I toured some outlets of two big electronic retail chain stores, which I anonymised as ChainA and ChainB.  They’re nearly always located beside each other so touring is easy.

ChainA typically had big 1.5 inch thick 17” screen laptops running Windows 7 and a bunch of no-name Android tablets.  ChainB was mostly stocking Windows 8, but there was little in the way of touch and there were no Windows 8 tablets to be found on this island (or the UK) outside of online stores which were ripping people off.

I will revisit these outlets tomorrow on their first day of being able to sell Windows 8.1 machines.  Here’s what I saw recently:

ChainA had a few Windows 8 devices but not much.  ChainB had stocked some Windows 8 tablets and Surface.  However, ChainB was recently running a sale to clear stock.  They did that with their Windows 7 stock before Windows 8 GA.  That makes me hope that they’ll have something interesting to sell tomorrow.

We’ll see!  I’ll be interested to hear what people in other countries experience tomorrow and over the first weekend of Windows 8.1 GA in the retail outlets.  Here’s what I saw in MediaMarkt Hamburg last year.

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Make Sure You Add Win 8.1, WinRT 8.1, and WS2012 R2 Products in WSUS

Coinciding with the Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 General Availability Update Rollup is an update set of products in WSUS (and Windows Intune & System Center Configuration Manager) that you need to select in order to manage patching for:

  • Windows RT 8.1 – yes; that’s what it is listed as!
  • Windows 8.1
  • Windows Server 2012 R2

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Approve those products, re-sync, and approve as required, and now you can deploy that GA update rollup.  Note that the GA (not RTM which was before today) media you download today onwards should include this update.

Note: no sign of System Center 2012 R2 in there yet.