Less than a year remaining until XP End of Support
Yesterday marked the day of the 1-year count down of when Microsoft softs supporting Windows XP.
In this blog post Stephen Rose provides some answers to help explain what the end of support is and what you need to do to move to a modern OS like Windows 7 or Windows 8.
Microsoft will end Extended Support on April 8, 2014. Why?
In 2002, Microsoft introduced its Support Lifecycle policy based on customer feedback to have more transparency and predictability of support for Microsoft products. Per this policy, Microsoft Business and Developer products – including Windows and Office products – receive a minimum of 10 years of support (five years Mainstream Support and five years Extended Support), at the supported service pack level. Windows XP SP3 and Office 2003 will go out of support on April 8, 2014. If your organization has not started the migration to a modern desktop, you are late.
Continue at the Springboard Series Blog
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Categories: Microsoft Tags: 8 April 2014, Microsoft, Microsoft Office 2003, Microsoft Windows, Operating system, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows XP
Default product keys for Windows 8 deployments
Use the following default product keys to quickly and easily preinstall computers with Windows 8 software.
| Windows version | Default product key |
|---|---|
| Windows 8 | 46V6N-VCBYR-KT9KT-6Y4YF-QGJYH |
| Windows 8 Professional | V7C3N-3W6CM-PDKR2-KW8DQ-RJMRD |
| Windows 8 N | 7QNT4-HJDDR-T672J-FBFP4-2J8X9 |
| Windows 8 Professional N | 4NX4X-C98R3-KBR22-MGBWC-D667X |
| Windows 8 Single Language (Emerging Markets) | NH7GX-2BPDT-FDPBD-WD893-RJMQ4 |
Simply type the default product key into the answer file used to preinstall the version of Windows that your customer requested.
Example:
<UserData> <ProductKey> <Key>V7C3N-3W6CM-PDKR2-KW8DQ-RJMRD</Key> </ProductKey> <AcceptEula>true</AcceptEula> </UserData> </component> </settings> </unattend>
Note These product keys cannot be used for activation. You will need to type a software product key during the installation process. These keys will be removed when sysprep generalize is run. The end user will be required to type the unique product key from the Certificate of Authenticity (COA) label when first booting Windows 8.
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Windows 8 Camp in a BOX
This download includes the hands-on-labs, presentations, samples and resources from the Windows 8 camps. The Windows 8 camps are free training events for developers ramping up on Windows Store app development. To sign-up for a Windows camp, please visit http://devcamps.ms/windows.
Download Windows 8 Camp in a Box
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Categories: Windows8 Tags: Features new to Windows 8, Microsoft, Microsoft Windows, Operating system, Windows, Windows 8, Windows Phone, Windows Store
First updates for Windows 8 RTM released
Microsoft posted the first (public) updates for Windows 8:
An update is available to correct tile logo images of files on the All Apps View.
Assume that you add the shortcut for a file to the All Apps View in Windows 8, Windows RT or Windows Server 2012. After you change the file association of the file type, the tile logo image is not updated accordingly in the All Apps View.
KB: An update is available to correct tile logo images of files on the All Apps View
Also Microsoft published the EU browser choice Screen update for Windows 8.
KB: What is the Browser Choice update (KB976002) – Microsoft Windows
Both updates are available through Microsoft Update app.
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Categories: Windows8 Tags: Microsoft, Microsoft Windows, Operating system, Personal computer, Windows 8, Windows RT, Windows Server 2012, Windows Update
Updated eBook for IT Pros on Windows Server 2012
Mitch Tulloch and the Windows Server team have released a new updated version of the FREE e-Book for IT professionals: Introducing Windows Server 2012 RTM Edition. This book is a great way to get quickly skilled up on all the new improvements in this latest Windows Server – one of the most ambitious releases of Windows Server for IT Pros since Active Directory was released in Windows Server 2000! In this 256-page eBook, you’ll find 5 chapters of detailed technical content covering the following key improvements to building a Private Cloud at your shop with Windows Server 2012:
Get it for free by posting a tweet 
Updated eBook for IT Pros on Windows Server 2012
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New Windows Logo
We have said that Windows 8 is a complete reimagination of the Windows operating system. Nothing has been left unexplored, including the Windows logo, to evaluate how it held up to modern PC sensibilities. The Windows logo is a strong and widely recognized mark but when we stepped back and analyzed it, we realized an evolution of our logo would better reflect our Metro style design principles and we also felt there was an opportunity to reconnect with some of the powerful characteristics of previous incarnations.
It’s a window… not a flag
Microsoft and Windows are all about putting technology in people’s hands to empower them to find their own perspectives. And that is what the new logo was meant to be. We did less of a re-design and more to return it to its original meaning and bringing Windows back to its roots – reimagining the Windows logo as just that – a window.
Let’s look back at a few of the versions along the way.
Full Story At Source
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Categories: Windows8 Tags: Logo, Metro, Microsoft, Microsoft Windows, Operating system, Personal computer, Window, Windows 8
Windows 8 Consumer Preview On February 29th
On February 29, Microsoft will finally release the Consumer Preview, a partly-finished beta, to the entire world. It’s announcing the preview at an event at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
The venue is interesting, since MWC is all about (duh) mobile devices. Earlier this month, a video leaked explaining how the next version of Windows Phone will interact with Windows 8, and share a lot of common technology as well. Expect to see some of that interaction at the show.
Here’s the invite:
 |
Continue At Source
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Categories: Windows8 Tags: Barcelona, Microsoft, Microsoft Windows, Mobile device, Mobile World Congress, Operating system, Windows 8, Windows Phone
System Center 2012 Gets Generous Licensing Changes
The soon to be released System Center 2012 product suite will get a huge licensing overhaul.
Where the current System Center 2010 suite contains 110(!) licensing items, SC 2012 will only have 2, yep that’s right only 2 choices of SKU’s and that is for the whole suite of SC products!
That’s not all, these licenses also include SQL licenses if a SC 2012 component requires it.
That is still not all, besides Opalis and AVICode now being fully integrated in 2012 a new SC product is included in 2012: App Controller and…..
Forefront endpoint protection (anti-malware)!
So that is 8 System Center products included in 2 license forms:
An OSE is Operating System Environment.
Each license is for a dual processor machine, that is 2 physical processors, not cores. So maybe use the term socket to avoid the proc/core confusion 
.
Standard SKU 1,300 USD per 2 proc
Datacenter SKU 3,600 USD per 2 proc (socket), includes SQL runtime
And there is still more, the licensing transition plan is also very generous!
Also available in combination of the ECI licensing, with minimum of 25 initial purchase.
Now compare the new licensing with Vmware:
Some examples which license is most economical
More system center 2012 news later this week
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Categories: Microsoft Tags: Data center, License, Microsoft, Microsoft Servers, Operating system, Oslo Stock Exchange, SQL, Vmware
Microsoft Documents Windows 8′s Best Features: PC Reset and PC Refresh
Microsoft today provided a lengthy explanation of two related and key new Windows 8 features called PC Reset and PC Refresh. The post on Building Windows 8 does into quite a bit of detail, expanding greatly on the information I provided previously in my Windows 8 Developer Previewoverview. There, I wrote:
PC recovery. The Windows 8 recovery stuff is awesome and is going to represent a major milestone in PC reliability. There are two major options to note, PC Refresh and PC Reset. With Reset, you get a full reset, and the entire PC is wiped out and reinstalled from scratch. This process takes a few minutes currently and will return the PC to its factory condition; it doesn’t require any external discs or USB key. With Refresh, your files, data, favorites, personalization, and metro style apps are all backed up, the OS is wiped out and replaced, and then everything is reapplied to the PC, leaving you with a pristine, running copy of Windows with everything (except for classic applications) exactly the way they were before. It currently takes 4 to 5 minutes.
I also previously published a Windows 8 Refresh Your PC Screenshot Gallery that features numerous screenshots of these features in action.
But back to Microsoft.
According to the post, PC Reset and PC Refresh will go a long ways towards making Windows 8-based PC behave more like devices, since these features are akin to a hardware “reset” button. The two features are differentiated as follows:
Reset your PC. Remove all personal data, apps, and settings from the PC, and reinstall Windows.
Refresh your PC. Keep all personal data, Metro style apps, and important settings from the PC, and reinstall Windows.
What’s most amazing about these features, of course, is how fast they are. And while I’ve experienced this in the real world, let’s just use the post’s own numbers: On the Developer Preview version of Windows 8, PC Refresh takes about 8 minutes and 22 seconds, while PC Reset (thorough, with BitLocker) takes under 6 and a half minutes. (Without BitLocker enabled, it’s more time-consuming at almost 24 minutes.) The same type of restore using a system image takes about 24.5 minutes by comparison.
Anyway, the post has a lot more detail, as always, if you’re morbidly curious. Plus, there’s a video in there as well.
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Categories: Windows8 Tags: BitLocker Drive Encryption, Metro Design Language, Microsoft, Microsoft Windows, Operating system, USB flash drive, Windows, Windows 8
A look back at 2011’s Microsoft’s security landscape
Decrease in Critical Issues and Bulletins
As far as individual issues, Critical-class CVEs accounted for less than a third of the issues we addressed in bulletin releases for the first time since we began our monthly bulletin-release cadence in 2004. And in absolute numbers, Critical-class CVEs are at their lowest levels since 2005. The fact that we’re seeing lower percentages of Critical issues and bulletins year-over-year demonstrates progress made by the product groups in creating more secure software.
With this regularly scheduled monthly release, our bulletin count for 2011 is 99, with 13 released today. Of those, we determined 10 to be Important-class bulletins, with only three classified as Critical in severity. In 2011, Critical-class bulletins represented just 32 percent of all bulletins – the lowest percentage since we began our monthly bulletin-release cadence in 2004 and, again, the lowest absolute number since 2005. Interestingly, for the second half of the year the numbers are even lower, with under 20 percent of bulletins released in the last six months rated Critical in severity.
Even though there are fewer Critical-class security updates year-over-year, we know that any update has the potential to be disruptive for customers. And so we work hard to make our update process as smooth and transparent as possible for customers – with no surprises. As part of that commitment, in 2011 we were able to address reported security issues effectively without resorting to emergency releases outside of the regular scheduled monthly releases. We understand the disruption that these “out-of-cycle” releases create for customers, and we take the decision to release an update out of cycle very seriously. Effective coordination with product teams, greater use of threat telemetry, the ability to release workarounds, and the ability to release defenses through partners like those in Microsoft’s Active Protection Program (MAPP) have all helped us to release all our 2011 bulletins in the usual monthly process. We’re glad about that, even though we will always reserve the right to release out-of-cycle if the situation merits it.
Continue: A look back at 2011’s security landscape – MSRC – Site Home – TechNet Blogs
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Categories: Uncategorized Tags: critical, Customer, MAPP, Microsoft, Microsoft Windows, Operating system, Patch (computing), Security
