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Modifying the Windows 7 boot loader with the Boot Configuration Data Editor tool

In Windows Vista and later versions of Windows, the bootloader was moved from boot.ini to a utility called BCDEdit. Here’s how to modify the boot config data with the new tool.

Sometimes dual-booting a system is a handy way to test new software, a new operating system, or an application that needs to be run in a specific version of Windows. Other reasons to dual-boot might include replication of a client environment.

Windows handles dual-booting by using boot.ini to display a menu of bootable choices or partitions found on the current system. In Windows Vista and later versions of Windows, the bootloader was moved from boot.ini to a utility called BCDEdit.

Recently, we decided we could make better use of some disk space that we had set aside to create a bootable VHD for Windows Server 2008 R2. There was no data other than the OS installation contained within the file because we had used it only to prepare a blog post about booting from Virtual Hard Disks. To free up the space, we deleted the VHD.

Note: Always make sure to back up any data that you want to keep before deleting or modifying partitions on VHDs. Your changes could make the partition unbootable.

Once we had the VHD removed, we thought Windows would be smart enough to clean up the boot loader, but we were not so lucky. We had Windows 7 set as the primary OS, so we were not without a system.

We started looking around for boot.ini and was directed toward the Boot Configuration Data Editor (BCDEdit) as the utility to use when editing boot loader information in Windows 7 (and in Vista too).

To begin, open the Start menu, select All Programs, and then choose Accessories. Right-click on Command Prompt and select Run As Administrator. Once in the command window, type bcdedit. This will return the current running configuration of your boot loader, showing any and all items that can boot on this system.

In this example, we decided to remove the entry for my Windows 2008 R2 installation, as we wouldn’t need it for the time being. To remove an entry, you will need to know the Boot Loader Identifier (found in curly braces in Figure A).

Figure A

we copied the whole list into Notepad and then selected and copied just the ID, braces included.

Removing an entry from the Boot Loader

One simple command got the Windows Server 2008 R2 entry out of the boot loader. At the command prompt, enter the following:

Bcdedit /delete {boot loader identifier}

Press Enter, and the Boot Configuration Data Editor (BCDEdit) will remove the entry for the ID you specified and display a message when finished. When Windows starts, the only choice available in the boot menu should be the current Windows installation.

Warning: Be careful when editing the boot configuration data. If you mistakenly remove the current instance of Windows, you may render your computer unbootable.

Have questions?

Get answers from Microsofts Cloud Solutions Partner!
Call us at: 856-745-9990 or visit: https://southjerseytechies.net/

South Jersey Techies, LL C is a full Managed Web and Technology Services Company providing IT Services, Website Design Services, Server Support, Network Consulting, Internet Phones, Cloud Solutions Provider and much more. Contact for More Information.

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What did Microsoft get right in 2016?

2016 was a very good year for Microsoft in terms of decision making. Here is a  list of five things the company got right.

Since its inception way back in the ancient epoch known as the 1970s, Microsoft has often been ridiculed for making mistakes. Whether it was for bad business strategies, poor products, or unscrupulous practices, Microsoft seemed to bring out the passionate ire in many people.

But what often gets overlooked is what Microsoft does right each year. And by just about any measurement, 2016 was a remarkable year for the company. Under the leadership of Satya Nadella, Microsoft has changed its business strategy to reflect what it describes as a mobile-first, cloud-first business world. And in 2016, that strategy began show results.

Here, in no particular order, are five things Microsoft got right in 2016.

1. Windows 10 Anniversary Update

To mark the one-year anniversary of Windows 10, Microsoft released a large patch it dubbed the Windows 10 Anniversary Update. Okay, so Microsoft is not very clever in naming things. But the patch itself was well received. It included new security measures, new program features, Microsoft Edge browser extensions, and advanced support for digital pens, among many other enhancements. If you were already using Windows 10, the Anniversary Update was a must.

2. Surface Studio

While not its primary business, Microsoft has been developing some noteworthy pieces of hardware the past few years and in 2016, the company generated a large amount of buzz with the release of the Surface Studio. This elegant computer combines the best of the desktop, laptop, and tablet to create a unique and innovative platform perfect for artists, designers, and other creative people. With data visualization becoming ever more important, Microsoft may have invented the perfect tool for the big data generation.

3. Microsoft Office 365

I have been wondering aloud if it is a bit too much, but there can be no doubt that with the dozens of program and feature updates released in 2016, Microsoft Office 365 is the alpha and omega of productivity software. Rather than trying to name all of the new features, it would be best to concentrate on the underlying theme: collaboration. Whether it is Yammer, Skype for Business, or the intelligent cloud, Microsoft is concentrating on features necessary for success in a collaborative environment.

4. LinkedIn

In 2016, Microsoft made several acquisitions of both companies and their technologies. Perhaps the most high-profile of these acquisitions was LinkedIn. Despite all of its efforts to create a collaboration platform with Office 365, the one thing Microsoft needed was a social networking component. LinkedIn gives the company a jump start toward establishing a social networking presence that can compete with the likes of Twitter and Facebook. It will be interesting to see what Microsoft does with this acquisition.

5. IoT, AI, and machine learning

While we may live in a mobile-first, cloud-first world right now, the future may very well revolve around the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence, and machine learning. To its credit, Microsoft sees the potential of these technologies and has taken steps to get ahead of the curve. In terms of recent history, getting ahead of the curve is not something Microsoft has done very well, so it is difficult to know where the research will lead, but it should prove to be worth watching closely.

Despite what some people may tell you, Microsoft does do some things right. In fact, for the most part, the company does more things right than it does wrong. In 2016, Microsoft did many things right and consumers and businesses have been the beneficiaries. Let’s hope Microsoft can continue the trend in 2017.

Have questions?

Get answers from Microsofts Cloud Solutions Partner!
Call us at: 856-745-9990 or visit: https://southjerseytechies.net/

South Jersey Techies, LL C is a full Managed Web and Technology Services Company providing IT Services, Website Design Services, Server Support, Network Consulting, Internet Phones, Cloud Solutions Provider and much more. Contact for More Information.

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Windows 10: The top 10 features headed your way in 2017

A look at the most significant changes due to hit Microsoft’s evolving OS in the coming year.

Microsoft has made many promises about what Windows 10 will do, and while some have materialized, others still remain ambitions.

As a perpetual work-in-progress, Windows 10 continues to accrue new features, as Windows catches up with Microsoft’s vision of it being an OS that runs anywhere, syncs with the cloud and has an intelligent assistant at its core.

While Windows 10 will be buffed up by the arrival of the Windows 10 Creators Update early next year, 2017 as a whole will see the OS undergo significant changes, some of which are long-awaited. Here’s what to look out for.

Windows 10 phones edge closer to replacing desktop PCs

Microsoft has long pushed the idea that Windows 10 on phones will be so powerful, it’ll be akin to carrying a full PC in your pocket, courtesy of the OS’ Continuum feature.

“With Continuum for phones, we believe that any screen can be your PC,” Joe Belfiore, Microsoft’s corporate VP of the operating systems group, told the Microsoft Build Developer Conference in 2015, going on to add:

“Imagine the effect this could have on mobile first countries, where individuals could be as effective with the phone that they’re buying.”

Today the reality of using Continuum on Windows 10 falls somewhat short of Belfiore’s future-gazing. While a select Windows 10 phones, such as the Lumia 950, can be hooked up to mouse, keyboard and monitor and used as a Windows desktop there are significant limitations. Only one fullscreen app can be used at a time, legacy Windows apps won’t run on existing handsets and even Universal Windows Platform apps need to explicitly support Continuum.

However, in addition to the possibility of legacy apps running on smartphones, see below, various improvements to Continuum are due to land with the Creators Update in early 2017.

These include support for more PC features, such as running multiple Windows side-by-side on the desktop, pinning apps to the Taskbar and hitting the Windows button to bring up the search box. Other improvements include the ability to keep your phone in your pocket and have it connect wirelessly to a docking station and to independently customize the Windows Start screen on the phone display and on a PC monitor.

Running classic Windows software on your phone

This one’s a rumor but based on solid foundations, and with the potential to transform Windows 10’s appeal on mobile if correct.

The big fly in the ointment when it comes to using Windows 10’s Continuum feature to run a phone as a PC is that Windows 10 phones only run Universal Windows Platform apps. This incompatibility means that widely-used Windows apps from desktop PCs can’t be used on handsets.

However, by sniffing around inside Windows 10’s code, users have uncovered signs that Microsoft is working on bringing these apps to Windows phones.

The code in question suggests that Microsoft is building an emulator that would allow desktop x86 apps to work on the ARM64-based handsets.

As reported by ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley last month, Twitter user WalkingCat found a reference to what he termed “Windows’s hybrid x86-on-ARM64 tech” in Windows’ codebase, which also referenced the term, “CHPE.”

The clue chimed with Foley, who said her sources had told her that Windows 10 will gain this x86 on ARM64 emulation capability, but not until Fall 2017.

Foley guesses that C stands for Cobalt, the codename for x86 emulation on ARM, and that HP relates to the tech giant HP, which has been working with Microsoft on its the HP Elite x3 Windows Phone, a Windows 10 handset that can serve as a desktop PC via Continuum.

Microsoft certainly has good reasons for wanting such emulation to work. If Windows 10 phones could run as Windows desktops with full support for legacy apps, without having to resort to remote desktop software, Windows 10 phones could suddenly be far more appealing to business.

Return of OneDrive placeholders

Since the launch of Windows 10, many users have been petitioning Microsoft to reintroduce placeholders to the OS’ built-in OneDrive cloud storage service.

In Windows 8.1, placeholders, also called smart files, let users see all of their files stored on OneDrive, whether those files were stored on the device or not.

This feature was removed from Windows 10 but is now due to be bought back in Windows 10 File Explorer when browsing OneDrive. The returning feature will work in a similar fashion to Windows 8.1’s placeholders, showing users files both stored locally and on OneDrive, allowing them to download files and folders to the device and keep them in sync with OneDrive.

Orchestrate Windows apps using Linux tools

Microsoft recently updated Windows 10 to let users run a range of Linux tools from inside the OSand seems committed to continuing to improve support for Linux command-line software in Windows.

In Windows 10, Ubuntu/Linux software runs on top of the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL). Users run Linux software and issue commands at the command line via the Bash shell.

Microsoft is working to increase the range of commands that can be run via the shell but perhaps the most significant change on the horizon is increased interoperability between the Bash and Windows environments. Effectively this will let developers call Windows applications from within Bash — allowing them to write a Bash script to automate a complex build that includes Windows applications — and to invoke Bash applications from Windows PowerShell.

These changes will be generally available in Windows 10 after the Creators Update early next year.

Easy communication with friends and family

Next year’s Creators Update will boost Windows 10’s social credentials, with a series of changes to make it simpler to stay in touch and share content with friends and family.

The Windows MyPeople feature will allow users to pin their favorite contacts to the right-hand side of Windows taskbar. Clicking on a pinned contact’s face brings up email or Skype messages from only that person and files can be dragged files to that person’s face for quick sharing. Informal check-ins also become easier, with the Shoulder Taps feature allowing pinned contacts to send friends animated emojis and other clipart, which pop up above that contact’s face on the taskbar.

Focusing Windows around virtual and augmented reality

Microsoft plans to put 3D and virtual reality at the heart of Windows 10, as it bets on the success of low-cost headsets due out next year.

Acer, Asus, Dell, HP and Lenovo will release virtual reality head-mounted displays, with prices starting from $299.

Some of these headsets will be released in March, to coincide with the release of the Windows 10 Creators Update, which will include various tools to simplify the creation and sharing of 3D content, including a new version of Microsoft Paint.

In a demo earlier this year, Microsoft showed how Windows 10 could work on virtual reality headsets, demonstrating a mock-up of a virtual space with a large TV screen and virtual shelves stocked with apps and 3D models, and with the Edge browser appearing as a large window in the wearer’s view.

Another demo, this time using the far more expensive Microsoft HoloLens, showed Microsoft’s Edge browser as a window in the user’s vision, from which the demoer dropped actual-sized 3D models of stools from the furniture site Houzz around the room, in order to see what they looked like in real life.

Allowing Windows to function in this way is Windows Holographic, a variant of the Microsoft OS that provides a platform for virtual and augmented reality headsets to run Universal Windows Platform apps.

More detail on Microsoft’s VR and AR plans are expected this week at the WinHEC conference in China.

Better battery life

Windows 10 PCs and tablets should have better battery life after the Creators Update lands in March, thanks to changes to how the OS is patched.

The steady stream of updates isn’t going to slow down but they are going to suck up less bandwidth and reduce strain on phone and laptop batteries.

Download sizes for major updates will be cut by about 35 percent and battery life of Windows 10 mobile devices will improve, due to each device spending less time checking for updates.

The improvements will stem from Windows 10’s new Unified Update Platform, already used for Windows 10 on phones, which only updates each device with the files it needs, rather than delivering all updates to date, and doesn’t rely so heavily on the user’s device to process update data.

Windows Defender Application Guard

Coming to Windows 10 Enterprise users early next year, Windows Defender Application Guard is designed to help protect firms against online threats.

The new safeguard will add container-based isolation to Windows 10’s Edge browser.

Application Guard will ensure that when Edge accesses a website not designated as trusted, the browser will be launched inside a container, a virtualized environment isolated from the rest of the Windows OS.

If the site tries to download and run malicious code on the device, that code remains within the container, unable to permanently compromise the Windows device or the wider network, and disappears when the browser session shuts down.

Unlike the software-based sandboxes that are offered by other browsers, Microsoft says that Application Guard provides a hardware-based container that offers greater protection to the device.

Other enterprise-focused changes in the forthcoming Creators Update include improvements to Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection’s ability to detect and respond to network attacks, an upgrade to the Windows Analytics dashboard to display additional information about the composition of IT estates, a new tool for in-place UEFI conversion, and a mobile application management feature for protecting data on employees’ personal devices.

Home Hub

Rather than building hardware to challenge voice-controlled virtual assistants such as Amazon Echo and Google Home, it seems as if Microsoft is working on transforming Windows 10 into what it calls a Home Hub.

Evidence of this shift comes from a Windows Central interview with unnamed sources. These sources claim that Home Hub will turn Windows into a shared computing environment for the home, allowing family members to more easily share calendars, apps and services.

A future-gazing Microsoft video from 2013, dug out by ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley, shows how this system might eventually work. In it, family members share access to photos, apps and calendars on a screen attached to a wall and interact with computers around the home, for example scanning carrots to find appropriate recipes. Adding credence to the Home Hub rumor are references to Home Hub being a shared family account in Windows 10, as discovered by Twitter user WalkingCat.

ZDNet’s Foley also references a recent Microsoft job posting for a software engineer in the Windows and Devices Group, which is seeking someone to expand Windows’ “family” credentials.

According to the ad, this engineer will play a critical role in helping families to “share pictures, videos, applications, games, and other purchases easily” and to “communicate freely and stay in touch” using Windows 10.

Blue light reduction

One more unconfirmed new feature appears to be aimed at helping Windows 10 users get a good night’s sleep.

Being exposed to blue light from computer screens late at night can supposedly disrupt the body’s sleep cycle.

To counter this disturbance, Windows 10 already has f.lux software that reduces blue light emitted by screens close to bedtime.

But it seems that Microsoft may be working on its own feature to address the issue.

Twitter user Core has discovered references to “BlueLightReduction” hidden within early builds of the OS being tested under the Windows Insider Program, a setting which appears as if would be toggled from Windows 10’s Action Center.

Have questions?

Get answers from Microsofts Cloud Solutions Partner!
Call us at: 856-745-9990 or visit: https://southjerseytechies.net/

South Jersey Techies, LL C is a full Managed Web and Technology Services Company providing IT Services, Website Design Services, Server Support, Network Consulting, Internet Phones, Cloud Solutions Provider and much more. Contact for More Information.

To read this article in its entirety click here.

Windows 10 Anniversary Update: Watch out for these nasty surprises

A major update to Windows 10 is being rolled out. These are the gotchas that are catching out early users.

windows-10-anniversary-update

Windows 10 users are getting the first major update to the operating system in just under a year, with the release of the Anniversary Update.

But alongside the new features and fixes are some more unwelcome changes, ranging from less control for users to frozen machines.

Here are the main gotchas to look out for, as well as some fixes.

Less time to change your mind

With the arrival of the Anniversary Update, those upgrading to Windows 10 from Windows 7 or 8 have less time to switch back to the earlier OS.

Prior to the Anniversary Update, Windows 10 users had 30 days during which they could choose to reset their machine and restore their original OS. However, following the update Microsoft has reduced this period to 10 days.

Microsoft claims it reduced the period after noticing that most users who chose to switch back did so within a few days of upgrading, adding the change will free storage space on users’ machines.

The reduction also coincides with the end of period during which Windows 7 and 8 users could upgrade to Windows 10 for free – meaning those now paying $120 or more to upgrade will likely be less keen to switch back.

Frozen computers and broken systems

When you update software there is always risk that something will break, and that’s exactly what seems to be happening for some who have received the Windows 10 Anniversary Update.

The most common complaint seems to be that the update causes the computer to lock-up soon after loading the desktop.

In response to the problem, Microsoft has been advising users to run Windows 10’s Maintenance Troubleshooter and if that doesn’t work, to perform a clean boot of the system.

Meanwhile, users are reporting the most reliable fix has been to roll back to an earlier build of Windows 10.

Another repeated complaint is that Microsoft’s virtual assistant Cortana is missing from the Task Bar, replaced instead with a search box. In affected systems, Cortana also seems to be disabled inside the Edge web browser.

Some users of Avast and McAfee anti-virus – both widely used products – are also reporting problems after the upgrade, as are gamers trying to use Xbox One controllers.

Cortana is more difficult to get rid of

If you’re not a fan of Microsoft’s virtual assistant Cortana then prepare to dislike the Anniversary Update.

Following the update, it is no longer possible to turn off Cortana from the virtual assistant’s in-built Settings menu.

Instead, if users want to ditch Cortana they will need access to specific admin tools or to edit the registry.

Users can also minimise the information that Cortana collects, although thisdoes require altering various settings.

Harder for admins to block ads

Another less welcome change is that Windows 10 Pro users lose the ability to use admin tools to block ads.

Prior to the update, admins could edit Group Policy settings to stop ads for apps showing in the Start menu and on the lock screen.

However, Windows 10 Pro users will lose that ability, and, following the update, disabling these ads via Group Policy settings will only be available to those running Windows 10 Enterprise, Windows 10 Pro Education, or Windows 10 Education editions.

Individual users should be able to turn off many of these ads by disabling Windows 10 tips, tricks, and suggestions and Windows Store suggestions in the Settings app, however.

Following the Windows 10 Anniversary Update, new installs of Windows 10 will show double the number of ads for Windows Store apps in the Start Menu. Some users have also reported a possible increase in the number of ads shown on the lock screen following the update.

Have questions?

Get answers from Microsofts Cloud Solutions Partner!
Call us at: 856-745-9990 or visit: https://southjerseytechies.net/

South Jersey Techies, LL C is a full Managed Web and Technology Services Company providing IT Services, Website Design Services, Server Support, Network Consulting, Internet Phones, Cloud Solutions Provider and much more. Contact for More Information.

The end is near: Say goodbye to the Windows 10 free upgrade

The deadline for a free Windows 10 upgrade is right around the corner. Find out what happens after the offer expires.

Windows 10-July29

Don’t look now, but July 29, 2016, is coming up fast. That is the one-year anniversary of the release of Windows 10, which means the ability to upgrade to the new operating system for FREE will soon expire. (If you are interested, you can take a look at the official countdown here.)

In a January 21, 2015, Windows Experience blog post titled The next generation of Windows: Windows 10, we learned that Windows 10 would be a free upgrade. Author Terry Myerson said:

Today was a monumental day for us on the Windows team because we shared our desire to redefine the relationship we have with you—our customers. We announced that a free upgrade for Windows 10 will be made available to customers running Windows 7, Windows 8.1, and Windows Phone 8.1 who upgrade in the first year after launch.

A little over six months later, on July 28, 2015, Myerson penned another Windows Experience blog post, titled Windows 10 Free Upgrade Available in 190 Countries Today, in which he reiterated the free upgrade policy:

From the beginning, Windows 10 has been unique—built with feedback from five million Windows Insiders, delivered as a service with ongoing innovations and security updates, and offered as a free upgrade to genuine Windows 7, Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8.1 customers.

If you’ve been reading articles by Woody Leonhard or Paul Thurrott in recent months, you know that Microsoft has been upping its game with the Get Windows 10, or GWX, program it built into Windows 7 and Windows 8.1. It really wants every Windows user everywhere to be running Windows 10.

Any holdouts—Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 users who have been sticking to their guns so far—have only a few more weeks to go before losing their chance to get Windows 10 for free.

In a recent Windows Experience blog post titled Windows 10 Now on 300 Million Active Devices – Free Upgrade Offer to End Soon, Yusuf Mehdi, the corporate vice president of Microsoft’s Windows and Devices Group, said:

…we want to remind you that if you haven’t taken advantage of the free upgrade offer, now is the time. The free upgrade offer to Windows 10 was a first for Microsoft, helping people upgrade faster than ever before. And time is running out. The free upgrade offer will end on July 29 and we want to make sure you don’t miss out. After July 29th, you’ll be able to continue to get Windows 10 on a new device, or purchase a full version of Windows 10 Home for $119.

What will Windows 10 cost after July 29?

As Mehdi pointed out in his post, you will be able to purchase a full version of Windows 10 Home for $119.

But how much will Windows 10 Pro cost?

Well, if you head over to the Microsoft Store right now, you’ll find that you can purchase both Windows 10 Home and Windows 10 Pro as a download or on a USB flash drive. Windows 10 Pro will cost you $199.99. And moving past the July 29 deadline for the free upgrade, it’s a pretty safe bet that prices will remain the same—especially since they’re the same price points that the full versions of Windows 8.1 Home and Pro sold for when that operating system was new.

Will there be upgrade versions of Windows 10 after July 29?

Since Microsoft provided free upgrades for a full year, I wonder if there will be upgrade packages for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 users who decide to upgrade to Windows 10 after July 29. I suppose that it’s possible, but then again, maybe not. When Microsoft introduced Windows 8.1 packages, it offered only the full versions—there were no upgrade versions of Windows 8.1. With that in mind, it’s easy to speculate that this may also be the case with Windows 10.

Have questions?

Get answers from Microsofts Cloud Solutions Partner!
Call us at: 856-745-9990 or visit: https://southjerseytechies.net/

South Jersey Techies, LL C is a full Managed Web and Technology Services Company providing IT Services, Website Design Services, Server Support, Network Consulting, Internet Phones, Cloud Solutions Provider and much more. Contact for More Information.

Microsoft is buying LinkedIn for a whopping $26.2 billion in big data push

Microsoft announced that it will be acquiring LinkedIn Corporation for $196 per share in an all-cash deal, gaining access to the social platform and its data.

linkedin

 

Microsoft announced that it will be purchasing LinkedIn, the social network for professionals, for $26.2 billion. The all-cash deal will bolster Microsoft’s social media presence among professionals and could potentially give LinkedIn more analytics resources.

In the official press release announcing the acquisition, it was noted that LinkedIn will remain its own entity and CEO Jeff Weiner will stay at the helm. Weiner will report to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.

Despite the astronomical price, one of the most basic reasons for Microsoft’s pursuit of LinkedIn is to grow its appeal among business users. LinkedIn is the world’s biggest site for networking and job searches with roughly 400 million users, and Microsoft will get direct access to that audience and the data it is creating.

Speaking of data, LinkedIn stands to benefit from this deal as well. Microsoft’s press release, pointed out that LinkedIn has updated its mobile app to help “deliver better business insights,” which it could continue to do with Microsoft’s help.

Of course, a big part of LinkedIn’s publishing platform was built around its acquisition of Pulse in 2013. And, in 2015, LinkedIn announced analytics for publishing to help brands and professionals better understand the reach of their posts.

After Microsoft bought Yammer in 2012, it is integrating a host of Yammer capabilities into Office 365 and we may see the same thing from the LinkedIn deal. In a letter written by Nadella to employees explaining the deal, he cited growth in “Office 365 commercial and Dynamics” as one of the goals of the deal, as well as growth in cloud services.

microsoft-linkedin-

“This deal brings together the world’s leading professional cloud with the world’s leading professional network,” Nadella wrote. “I have been learning about LinkedIn for some time while also reflecting on how networks can truly differentiate cloud services.”

Additionally, Nadella noted that the combination could lead to an interesting overlap between the two brands relative to specific projects or tasks.

“This combination will make it possible for new experiences such as a LinkedIn newsfeed that serves up articles based on the project you are working on and Office suggesting an expert to connect with via LinkedIn to help with a task you’re trying to complete,” Nadella wrote. “As these experiences get more intelligent and delightful, the LinkedIn and Office 365 engagement will grow. And in turn, new opportunities will be created for monetization through individual and organization subscriptions and targeted advertising.”

One other option could be for Skype integration for LinkedIn to help with video interviews for job candidates, but also to assist with learning through the Lynda.com brand. LinkedIn bought Lynda.com back in 2015, which means that Microsoft gets access to the popular training platform and its audience as well.

The deal is expected to be completed sometime in 2016. Microsoft expects that LinkedIn’s financials will be reported as part of its Productivity and Business Processes segment.

The 3 big takeaways for readers

  1. Microsoft announced that it has purchased LinkedIn, the professional social network, for $26.2 billion dollars in order to further integrate the two companies’ technologies.
  2. In a letter penned by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, he specifically pointed out the integration will focus on “insights” and “cloud platforms.”
  3. Microsoft also gets access to the data generated by LinkedIn users around job searches, as well as access to LinkedIn’s training platform, Lynda.com, and its audience and data.

Have questions?

Get answers from Microsofts Cloud Solutions Partner!
Call us at: 856-745-9990 or visit: https://southjerseytechies.net/

South Jersey Techies, LL C is a full Managed Web and Technology Services Company providing IT Services, Website Design Services, Server Support, Network Consulting, Internet Phones, Cloud Solutions Provider and much more. Contact for More Information.

To read this article in its entirety click here.

End of Life Windows 7, Server 2008 R2, & Small Business Server 2011

The End of Life for Windows 7, Server 2008 R2, & Small Business Server 2008 + 2011

End of Life Windows 7, Server 2008 R2, & Small Business Server 2011
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Microsoft has announced that its support for Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, and Small Business Server (SBS) 2011 will be coming to an end on January 14, 2020.

What does that mean for you? First, security patches and updates will no longer be implemented, leaving Windows 7 workstations and servers susceptible to security breaches. On January 13, 2015, Microsoft ended mainstream support for Windows 7, but now extended support is ending as well. Extended support is still safe to use until 2020 currently. Normally Microsoft would add new features during the mainstream support phase, but they will not be being doing this anymore. They will however, continue to patch any security treats. South Jersey Techie’s strongly recommends upgrading your business’s servers and workstations before the January 2020 deadline- and to start planning now to avoid the urgency of the deadline. Businesses in the healthcare industry will be impacted by the changes in relation to HIPPA violations if their server isn’t updated before the deadline. The deadline will be here before you know it and updating an IT infrastructure is a large task and shouldn’t be put off until the last minute.

What are the next steps for your business? Many of our clients are starting to upgrade now or are planning to include the upgrades in their 2019 budget. Send us an email or give us a call and we will evaluate your line of business software for Windows 10 and upgraded server compatibility. If your company decides to upgrade its old server and workstations to meet the January 2020 deadline, South Jersey Techie’s has the reliable solutions and experienced technicians you need for managing the data migration and even the retired hardware. You can have peace of mind knowing your old data will be securely erased and destroyed.

Unsure if this deadline will affect your business? South Jersey Techie’s can review your server for you and determine its end of life date or if it will be affected by the 2020 end of support date. If you have any questions or concerns about your office and the 2020 end of support date, please give us a call today: (856)745-9990.

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Old Windows PCs can stop WannaCry ransomware with new Microsoft patch

In a rare step, Microsoft published a patch for Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 and Windows 8

Users of old Windows systems can now download a patch to protect them from this week’s massive ransomware attack.

In a rare step, Microsoft published a patch for Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 and Windows 8 — all of them operating systems for which it no longer provides mainstream support.

Users can download and find more information about the patches in Microsoft’s blog post about Friday’s attack from the WannaCry ransomware.

The ransomware, which has spread globally, has been infecting computers by exploiting a Windows vulnerability involving the Server Message Block protocol, a file-sharing feature.

Computers infected with WannaCry will have their data encrypted, and display a ransom note demanding $300 or $600 in bitcoin to free the files.

Fortunately, Windows 10 customers were not targeted in Friday’s attack. In March, Microsoft patched the vulnerability that the ransomware exploits — but only for newer Windows systems. That’s left older Windows machines, or those users who failed to patch newer machines, vulnerable to Friday’s attack.

Researchers originally believed the ransomware was spread through attachments in email phishing campaigns. That no longer appears to be the case.

Infection attempts from the WannaCry ransomware.

Once a vulnerable PC becomes infected, the computer will attempt to spread to other machines over the local network as well as over the internet. The ransomware will specifically scan for unpatched machines that have the Server Message Block vulnerability exposed.

Businesses can prevent this by disabling the Server Message Block protocol in vulnerable PCs. They can also use a firewall to block unrecognized internet traffic from accessing the networking ports the Server Message Block uses.

Fortunately, Friday’s ransomware attack may have been contained. A security researcher who goes by the name MalwareTech has activated a sort of kill-switch in WannaCry that stops it from spreading.

As a result, over 100,000 new infections were prevented, according to U.K.’s National Cyber Security Centre. But experts also warn that WannaCry’s developers may be working on other versions that won’t be easy to disable.

“It’s very important everyone understands that all they (the hackers) need to do is change some code and start again. Patch your systems now!” MalwareTech tweeted.

Unfortunately, the kill-switch’s activation will provide no relief to existing victims. The ransomware will persist on systems already infected.

Friday’s ransomware attack appears to have spread mainly in Europe and Asia, with Russia among those nations hardest hit, according to security researchers.

Security experts are advising victims to wait before paying the ransom. It’s possible that researchers will develop a free solution that can remove the infection.

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The 16 most pivotal events in Windows history

Thirty years of Windows is a lifetime.

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Thirty years of Windows

For better or for worse, Windows has defined the modern era of personal computing. Microsoft’s signature OS runs on the vast majority of PCs worldwide, and it has also worked its way into servers, tablets, phones, game consoles, ATMs, and more.

Windows’ 30 years or so of existence has spanned generations of computing and entire lifetimes of companies and their products. Understandably, choosing the most noteworthy moments of Windows’ long life has been a challenging task, but we went for it. On the following slides we present our our list of the obvious, and not-so-obvious, milestones in Windows history.

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Windows 1.0

On Nov. 20, 1985, Microsoft launched the first iteration of Windows, essentially a graphical shell that overlaid Microsoft’s well-known MS-DOS. Requiring a couple of floppy drives, 192KB of RAM, and, most importantly, a mouse, Windows wasn’t actually that well-received. But Bill Gates told InfoWorld that “only applications that run Windows will be competitive in the long run.” He was right—for a time.

Featuring tiled windows that could be minimized or extended to cover the full screen, plus “apps” like Calendar and Write, Windows was the precursor to what the majority of PC users run today. Oh, and it was sold by Microsoft’s eventual CEO, Steve Ballmer, in perhaps the best computer commercial (Apple’s “1984” ad notwithstanding) ever shown.

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Windows 3.x

Windows puttered along until May 1990, when the first iconic Windows release, Windows 3.0, was released. It’s difficult to decide whether Windows 3.0 or its immediate successor, Windows 3.1, was more important; Windows 3.0 introduced sound to the Windows platform, but Windows 3.1 added TrueType fonts.

Yes, Windows 3.1 included File Manager (drag and drop!) and Program Manager, but the real innovations were more fun: support for MIDI sound and AVI files.  More importantly, Windows 3.x introduced screensavers (a staple of shovelware for years) and the ultimate timewasters: Solitaire (Windows 3.0) and Minesweeper (Windows 3.1). An entire generation learned how to place digital playing cards, one on top of the other, all for the glory of seeing all the cards bounce when a game was completed.

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Windows 95

Early iterations of Microsoft’s Windows operating system catered more toward the business user than anyone else. That changed on August 24, 1995 with the launch of Windows 95.

It featured a few key technical upgrades: Windows 95 was Microsoft’s first “mass-market” 32-bit OS. It was the also first to add the Start button that we use today. The first integrated web browser, Internet Explorer, just missed the launch and shipped later.

With a promotional budget of hundreds of millions of dollars, much of what we remember about Windows 95, though, was tied up in the marketing: a midnight launch, an ad campaign built around the The Rolling Stones hit “Start Me Up,” a partnership with Brian Eno that produced the iconic boot melody.

Oh, and Windows 95 also allowed users to pay $19.95 to try out a time-limited beta of the OS, which expired at the launch. Good times.

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Microsoft Bob

Windows 3.1, however, also gave us Microsoft Bob, a March 1995 release that remodeled Windows as a series of “rooms.” Each was populated by virtual objects that might have a purpose—but you wouldn’t know until you clicked on them. Bob also featured a series of “assistants” that offered to help you perform all sorts of tasks, whether you wanted to or not.

Bob bombed. But Microsoft never quite gave up on trying to humanize Windows, a noble if slightly pathetic effort that would later produce the unfortunately iconic Clippy assistant.

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Windows NT

Though PCWorld tends to focus on the PC (natch), we’d be remiss to neglect Windows NT, the precursor to Windows’ expansion into the server and workstation space. Windows NT was Microsoft’s first 32-bit OS designed (and priced) for both the server and workstation market, with specific versions optimized for the X86, DEC Alpha, and MIPS series of microprocessors. It eventually was combined with the standard Windows architecture to form Windows XP.

Today, Microsoft has built a sizeable portion of its business upon Windows Server, SQL Server, and Windows Center, among others, plus its investments in the Azure cloud. All of this originated with Microsoft’s desire to take on UNIX in the server space.

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Windows XP

Whether it’s due to nostalgia, good design, or the famous “Bliss” backdrop featuring an emerald-green hillside in California’s wine country, 2001’s Windows XP remains one of the more beloved Windows operating systems. Shoot, it managed to erase the memory of Windows ME, one of Microsoft’s biggest blunders.

Windows XP shipped in two editions: one for professionals, the other for home users, with features stripped out of the “pro” version, such as domain join. But Windows XP also shipped with a Media Center edition that transformed a PC equipped with a TV tuner into a powerful DVR. (Media Center remains one of the more popular, and mourned, features of Windows today—it’s one reason users cite for refusing to upgrade to Windows 10.)

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Windows Genuine Advantage

Maybe you thought every pivotal Windows moment was a product release. Not so. As good as it was, Windows XP also unleashed Windows Genuine Advantage—or what we now refer to as “activation”—upon an unsuspecting world. It was the first step in evolving Windows from a “hobby” to what some would refer to as “Micro$oft.”

This attitude was nothing new. In 1976, Bill Gates penned “An Open Letter to Hobbyists,” where he complained that the amount of royalties paid by customers using its BASIC software amounted to about $2 per hour. “Most directly, the thing you do is theft,” Gates wrote, essentially equating sharing code with outright stealing.

Microsoft sought to curtail this activity with the release of Windows Genuine Advantage, which stealthily installed itself onto millions of PCs by way of a high-priority “update.” (Sound familiar?) Windows Genuine Advantage consisted of two parts, one to actually validate the OS and another to inform users whether they had an illegal installation: In 2006, Microsoft said it had found about 60 million illegal installations that failed validation.

Now? Virtually every standalone product Microsoft sells comes with its own software protections and licenses. If you want a “hobby” OS, you run Linux—which Microsoftalso spent millions trying to discredit, to no avail.

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United States v. Microsoft

In May of 1998, following government concerns that bundling Internet Explorer within its operating system gave Microsoft an unfair advantage, the Department of Justice and several states filed a landmark antitrust suit against the company.

The trial lasted 76 days. Cofounder and chief executive Bill Gates appeared on videotape, seemingly dismissing questions put to him by government lawyers. Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson ultimately ruled that Microsoft had acted as a monopoly and should be broken up into two companies, though that ruling was later overturned by an appeals court.

Years later, an integrated browser is generally viewed as part and parcel of an OS, though consumers are free to select any browser they choose. Today, Microsoft and IE still power most older PCs, but consumers selecting new browsers are turning to Chrome.

Judge Penfield argued that consumers would have benefitted from a breakup of Microsoft. But we’ve argued before that Microsoft would have, too.

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Browser-choice screen

In 2009, Microsoft struck a deal with the European Commission, ending the EU’s own antitrust investigation. That agreement created what became known as the “browser-choice screen,” encouraging European consumers to pick a browser besides Internet Explorer.

The browser-choice screen didn’t kill Internet Explorer; in fact, IE remained the most popular downloaded browser until March 2016, when Windows 10 helped push it out of the top spot. But the browser-choice screen certainly reminded consumers that other browsers existed, and that they could pick and choose whichever they preferred, rather than accepting what Microsoft provided to them.

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Windows 7

For many, Windows reached its apex with Windows 7, which continues to be the dominant OS in Windows’ history: It reached a high of almost 61 percent market share in June 2015, and still commands about 47 percent of the market today.

Why? Any number of reasons, not the least of which is familiarity: Windows’ UI remained relatively static for almost 11 years, from the 2001 launch of Windows XP on up to the dramatic tiled revamp of 2012’s Windows 8. Windows 7 also added several elements that we take for granted in Windows today: the taskbar, a more evolved Snap function, and support for multiple graphics cards. It’s also important to note that Windows 7 supports DirectX 11.1, which is arguably still the dominant graphics API today. Until DirectX12 supersedes it, gamers won’t have a reason to leave.

Windows 7 also eliminated many of the annoying UAC popups that its predecessor, Windows Vista, had put in place. And (as our commenters have repeatedly pointed out) it lacks the frustratingly frequent updates of the current Windows 10, allowing users to essentially “set it and forget it.”

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Laptop Hunters ads

Microsoft ran a series of “Laptop Hunters” ads during 2009, featuring real people buying real laptops from real stores—and consistently picking Windows PCs over the more expensive Apple options. For about three years, Microsoft had been stung by the barrage of “I’m a Mac/I’m a PC” ads portraying PCs as clunky and out of touch, and “Laptop Hunters” effectively skewered that message as pretentious and expensive.

The campaign followed a $300 million “I’m a PC” push a year earlier, which lacked the real-world punch of Lauren and other real-world customers. Both campaigns illustrated Microsoft’s pivot to being the face of the PC. The “Dude, you’re getting a Dell!” days are long gone.

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Windows 8.1

I vividly remember the first time I saw a Windows 7 user try out Windows 8: He stabbed at tile after tile, unable to figure out what to do with Microsoft’s new OS. Most of the public did the same. Today, we barely even talk about Windows 8.

Instead, we talk about Windows 8.1: the “service pack” update that undid at least some of the flaws that plagued Windows 8. In my opinion, the most notable thing about Windows 8.1 was that it showed Microsoft was listening to its customers again, even adding a hidden “boot to desktop” command to remedy one of its users’ biggest complaints. (It also was the last time SkyDrive, later renamed OneDrive, actually acted like the cloud backup we wanted.)

By itself, Windows 8.1 is a relatively minor release. But it stands as an important admission of guilt, and an apology, for the sins of its predecessor.

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The rise of Android, the fall of Windows Mobile

In February 2007, Microsoft debuted Windows Mobile 6, its first mobile operating system for true smartphones and arguably one of the company’s most successful. In November 2007, however, the free Android OS debuted. A year later, HTC launched the first Android smartphone: the HTC Dream, seen here. It was all downhill from there for Microsoft.

Yes, you could make a strong argument that Microsoft’s massive $7.8 billion acquisition of Nokia’s devices business in 2013—which, by now, has been almost completely written off—was actually the last gasp of Microsoft’s mobile vision. But the launch of the Dream, and the hundreds of millions of Android phones that followed it, lured away third-party developers Microsoft needed for its mobile aspirations to thrive.

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Windows 10: The ‘last Windows’

With Windows 10, Microsoft made the gutsy call to bring beta testers in as partners rather than as guinea pigs. The Windows Insider program lets users try out and evaluate builds almost as quickly as Microsoft can churn them out, fostering an air of camaraderie between users and Microsoft.

Windows 10 also introduced a number of features: a revamped Start menu, better notifications, virtual desktops, and more. It launched Cortana, a digital assistant that Microsoft hoped would eliminate the grunt work of setting reminders and sending quick texts and email.

But Cortana’s privacy-intruding nature and Microsoft’s aggressive upgrade practiceswashed away some of the goodwill Windows 10 originally engendered. Today, Windows 10 is one of the more polarizing operating systems in recent memory, with many Windows 7 fans loudly criticizing it, and others supporting the direction Microsoft has taken.

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The evolution of the digital assistant

 Of course, Microsoft has a long, controversial history with digital assistants, beginning way back in 1995 with the debut of Microsoft Bob. That program was meant to help familiarize Windows users with various applications by anticipating the users’ needs. While universally derided, Bob introduced the concept of ostensibly helpful characters, from a superhero dog to a clone of Albert Einstein to the infamous Office assistant  “Clippit,” aka “Clippy.”

You can make the case that Clippy and its ilk evolved, over time and behind the scenes, into the far more sophisticated digital assistant that’s built into Windows 10: Cortana. The difference, of course, is that Cortana is part of a larger trend, joined by Google Now and Siri, digital assistants in their own rights for the Android and iOS platforms, respectively. Indeed, Microsoft is pushing its Bot Framework, which enables the creation of intelligent digital helpers, into all sorts of new applications beyond the OS, such as Skype and Bing.

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Patches, good and bad

Windows has bugs. Windows requires patches. And while there have been many, many updates over the years to fix bugs, slowdowns, and other incompatibilities, there have also been many, many screwups, too. InfoWorld has an entire list of them.

My favorite? A patch that put a mysterious black bar on one side of Internet Explorer—and if you clicked it—CRASH!—down came your machine with a BSOD. For a time, Microsoft allowed you to refuse Windows patches. Windows 10, unfortunately, did away with all that.

That concludes our list of Windows’ most pivotal moments. We could have spent dozens upon dozens of slides diving deep into Windows’ history, but we had to stop somewhere. Is there anything we missed? Tell us below.

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Microsoft 365 Business: Get Office + Windows 10 in one SMB-friendly subscription

Will preview $20/month software-as-a-service plan Aug. 2

Earlier this week, Microsoft introduced two additional software-as-a-service subscription plans to the partners who will try to sell them.

The pair join an increasing number of subscription deals that the Redmond, Wash. company has modeled on the Office 365 pattern. The new plans even carry the “365” label, which Microsoft sees as a unifying identifier.

Microsoft 365 is, as CEO Satya Nadella introduced it Monday, “a fundamental departure in how we think about product creation,” composed of, initially at least, two plans. The more expensive, Microsoft 365 Enterprise, is simply a new name for a year-old, two-tier product titled “Secure Productive Enterprise E3” and “Secure Productive Enterprise E5.” Those SKUs (stock-keeping units) were introduced at Microsoft’s 2016 partner conference. Like SPE, M365 Enterprise tosses Windows 10 Enterprise, Office 365 and Enterprise Mobility + Security into a bucket.

But “Microsoft 365 Business,” or M365 Business for short, is the more interesting of the two plans because it is actually new. Nadella thought the same. “I’m so excited about the product innovation that you will see today around small and medium-sized businesses,” he said during a two-hour keynote before partners.

So, what’s Microsoft 365 Business?

That’s the new deal Microsoft will push later this year after an unspecified time in preview, which will start Aug. 2.

M365 Business includes:

Office 365 Business Premium, a software-and-service plan that includes all the Office applications, hosted Exchange email, OneDrive storage service and more. Alone, Office 365 Business Premium costs $12.50 per user per month when billed on an annual basis.

Windows 10 Pro: Devices currently running Windows 7 Professional or Windows 8.1 Pro may be upgraded to Windows 10 Pro under M365 Business.

Windows 10 Business: According to Microsoft, “Windows 10 Business is a set of cloud-[based] services and device management capabilities that complement Windows 10 Pro and enable the centralized management and security controls of Microsoft 365 Business.” The services and tools include a subset of those from Intune, Microsoft’s enterprise mobility management (EMM) platform, as well as Windows AutoPilot, an automated deployment service bundled with Windows 10’s March 2017 feature upgrade, aka 1703 and Creators Update.

How much does M365 Business cost?

$20 per user per month when it launches later this year.

That’s $7.50 per user per month more than Office 365 Business Premium, or an extra $90 per user annually. For that amount, customers receive the difference between the two plans: the upgrade to Windows 10 Pro and the various management service components.

Who is Microsoft 365 Business for?

According to Microsoft, the plan is “built for small and midsize customers that have little to no IT resources on staff.”

Although companies of any size can purchase M365 Business licenses, any one customer can buy no more than 300 subscriptions, another signal that it aims at small and medium-sized organizations.

The limited management tools also play to that theme. They’re designed to be easy to use and offer only basic functionality, and are accessed via simple control panels similar to what they may have already used for Office 365.

What’s the Windows 10 upgrade all about in M365 Business?

Microsoft’s descriptions of this component are sketchy thus far. An extensive company Q&A on the subscription plan had the most information, saying, “If you have devices that are licensed for Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 Professional, Microsoft 365 Business provides an upgrade to Windows 10 Pro.” (The “Professional” label holds for Windows 7, but 8 and 8.1 are dubbed “Pro” instead, as is Windows 10.)

Computerworld was unable to unearth additional details of the upgrade, specifically what happens when a customer cancels a M365 Business subscription or lets one expire. Do devices that were upgraded from Windows 7 Professional to Windows 10 Pro retain the latter license? Or is the Windows 10 license revoked, forcing customers to reinstall the previous OS?

Microsoft declined to answer questions about that scenario, and analysts who had been briefed by the company said that licensing issues were not discussed in Microsoft’s presentation.

The matter of expiring subscriptions requires context. Generally, when customers exit a subscription, say, Office 365, the applications and services will retreat into a reduced functionality mode or stop working entirely. Something similar happens after a subscription to Windows 10 Enterprise E3 or E5 lapses. “When a subscription license expires … the Windows 10 Enterprise device seamlessly steps back down to Windows 10 Pro,” Microsoft states in a support document.

In other instances, Microsoft doesn’t strip away an upgrade. Customers who have subscribed to Windows 10 Enterprise E3 or E5 may upgrade devices equipped with Windows 7 Professional or 8.1 Pro, to Windows 10 Pro; if they later depart the E3 or E5 plan, the Windows 10 license permanently remains in place.

Which of these options remains — cancellation or retention — is what’s unclear in the case of M365 Business.

What management tools does M365 Business include?

Enough, says Microsoft, to adequately serve small and mid-sized businesses.

What Microsoft calls “a simplified management console” controls device and user management functions. The tools bundled in M365 Business include:

  • Auto-install (and easy uninstall) Office
  • Wipe company data from devices, both company- and employee-owned
  • Enforce user settings on devices, including access to Windows Store or use of Cortana
  • Force users to save all work to OneDrive for Business
  • Configure new PCs as well as existing systems running Windows 10 Pro 1703 (Creators Update) or later using AutoPilot
  • Automatically update and upgrade Windows 10 PCs using Windows Update for Business

We heard there’s a preview of M365 Business. What’s that deal?

Yes, there will be a preview available starting, Microsoft’s said, on Wednesday, Aug. 2. The preview will be accessible from this website. Users may, in fact, sign up now for the preview on that page.

Although there is no charge for the preview, Microsoft recommended that potential customers contact their preferred Microsoft Partner — or locate one — to handle the M365 Business deployment.

Interestingly, Microsoft said, “Devices running Windows 7 [Professional] or 8.1 Pro are eligible for an upgrade to Windows 10 Pro within the Microsoft 365 Business preview.” It was unclear whether that upgrade would be retained or retracted at the end of the preview.

What does M365 Business require?

According to Microsoft, Windows 7 Professional PCs “likely meet the minimum requirements.” However, only Windows 10 devices can be managed in M365 Business, a powerful motivator for equipping as many systems as possible with the newer OS.

The other major precondition for the subscription — Azure Active Directory (AAD) — is necessary to enforce user and device policies set in the management console, and for other tasks, such as AutoPilot set-up. Microsoft acknowledged that on-premises Active Directory works with M365 Business, but “it is not recommended.”

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