Bootable Windows Server 2016 UEFI ISO

This is an update of my http://hiltont.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/bootable-windows-server-2012-iso.html post.

Back in the Windows F^HVista/7 and Server 2008/2008R2 days, it was possible to install an operating system instance without needing to input a key during the installation process.  You could use various methods to make a bootable OS Install USB key then simply remove the \sources\ei.cfg file and you'd be able to choose between all the versions of the OS inside the boot.wim file - this was very handy!

Microsoft has made a change since Windows Server 2012/Windows 8 whereby they don't allow you to install Windows without the use of a Product Key.  There is no ei.cfg file in the \sources folder and you are forced to input a Product Key during installation.

Well, there's a simple way to work around this to not only create a bootable USB Key that doesn't need a Product Key during install (and lets you choose among the multiple OS variants in the boot.wim file), but also to re-create a bootable ISO image so that you can then mount this as an installation media source in Hyper-V!

The steps to achieve these goals are:

• First, you'll need to download a Windows Server 2012, 2012R2 or 2016 ISO image or use the VL ISO image you already have there.  Then you'll need to either extract this image to a folder, or better still, just run the (portable) Rufus application to make yourself a bootable USB key that allows for quite quick OS installs.
  
• Now, you'll need to copy the following into a new plain text file called ei.cfg in the \sources folder of the USB key:
  [Channel]
  Retail
  [VL]
  1
• If you only need the bootable USB key, you can stop here, however if you now wish to recreate the ISO image file so that you can then use this modified image in a Hyper-V environment...
• Download and install the latest Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit (ADK) (the latest at time of writing this post was for Windows 10 Build 1607).  The installer itself is around 1.7MB and the only component you need to install for this process is Deployment Tools, which is around 68MB
• Now, to create an ISO image that will work with BIOS-based systems, assuming the USB Key we just made is available at U: and you're creating the ISO image on D:
  
  • Run the Deployment and Imaging Tools Environment (Command Prompt) as Administrator, change to the "amd64\oscdimg" folder and then type the following:
  • oscdimg.exe –l<disc_label> -m -u2 –b<path_of_bootable_img_file> <path_of_installation_source> <path_where_ISO_is_to_be_created>
  • Please see this link for an explanation of the oscdimg.exe command-line options
  • Example:
    oscdimg.exe -lSVR2016BIOS -m -u2 -b"U:\boot\etfsboot.com" "U:\" "D:\Svr2016BIOS.iso"
• If you wish to create an ISO image that will work on both BIOS-based and UEFI-based systems such as a Hyper-V 2012 R2 and 2016 Gen 2 guest instance, assuming the USB Key we just made is available at U: and you're creating the ISO image on D: (this uses a modified version of the instructions found here):
  
  • Run the Deployment and Imaging Tools Environment (Command Prompt) as Administrator, change to the "amd64\oscdimg" folder and then type the following:
  • oscdimg -l2016UEFI -m -o -u2 -udfver102 -bootdata:2#p0,e,b"U:\boot\etfsboot.com"#pEF,e,b"U:\efi\microsoft\boot\efisys.bin" "U:\" "D:\2016-ei-UEFI.iso"
  • Please see the original post (here) for more information on the command-line options used.
• Now, you can burn this ISO image to a DVD or simply use it as the source for a Hyper-V guest and because it contains both the BIOS and UEFI boot data, it can be used to install either a Gen 1 (BIOS) or Gen 2 (UEFI) Hyper-V Guest. :)

Enjoy!


Regards,

The Outspoken Wookie

Windows 7 Reaches Its First EOL Step

Windows 7, the operating system that Microsoft simply can't kill off, has reached the first major step in its End Of Life cycle - the end of mainstream support was yesterday (13 Jan, 2015).  As can be seen on Microsoft's Product Support Lifecycle page for Windows 7, this date has now been reached and we're now in the Extended Support phase.  This is just like when Voyager 1 passed out of our Solar System in August 2012 and into interstellar space.

What this means is that the product will now only receive security updates - no non-security updates will be made available for Windows 7 based products (unless you have a Premier Support Agreement for Windows 7 Enterprise, which I can guarantee no small business has).  This is not a nail in the coffin of Windows 7, but it does mean that the product is entering its final years of functionality.  Paid support is still available for Windows 7 on a per-incident basis.

On the 14th of January, 2020 we'll have another milestone - the last day of extended (security update) support.  That will be the last nail in the coffin of Windows 7 - this is what happened to Windows XP back on 8th April, 2014.

So, right now there's nothing to worry about if you're still running Windows 7 on your computers - currently computer manufacturers are still allowed to supply computers with Windows 7 pre-installed if the manufacturer still has old stock of Windows 7 licenses.  But with Windows 8 and also Windows 8.1 already out and Windows 10 on the horizon, it may be time to think about the steps needed to move up to the current/next version of Windows.

Regards,

The Outspoken Wookie

Windows 8.x Wireless Networking Issues

One of the more useful features of Windows 7 that has been completely removed from Windows 8.x for no apparently decent reason is the "Manage Wireless Networks" Control Panel applet.  It provided you with a wealth of knowledge and gave you the ability to, as its name suggests, manage wireless networks.

So, with the demise of this useful feature, along came the Kerkia group with their WinFi application to return the functionality of this tool in a nice, usable interface.  It allows you to re-order, delete, import and export network profiles and it also allows you to change a network profile between Current User and All Users.  All User profiles will connect before any user has logged in to the computer.

In addition to this, there are some "netsh" commands you may well find useful if you like doing things via the command-line:



Showing Wireless Profiles

 netsh wlan show profile

- output will be something like:

Profiles on interface Wi-Fi:

Group policy profiles (read only)
---------------------------------
None
User profiles
-------------
All User Profile : SSID1
All User Profile : SSID2
Current User Profile : SSID3



Deleting Wireless Profiles

netsh wlan delete profile SSID2

- output will be something like:

 Profile "SSID2" is deleted from interface "Wi-Fi".



Exporting Wireless Profiles

To back up all Wireless Profiles
netsh wlan export profile folder="%UserProfile%\Desktop"

To back up all Wireless Profiles on a particular interface
netsh wlan export profile interface="interface name" folder="%UserProfile%\Desktop"

To back up a specific Wireless Profile on all interfaces
netsh wlan export profile "profile name" folder="%UserProfile%\Desktop"

To back up a specific Wireless Profile on a specific interface
netsh wlan export profile "profile name" interface="interface name"
folder="%UserProfile%\Desktop"

Note:

• Substitute profile name (SSID) in the command with the actual SSID network profile name that you want to export as a backup.
• Substitute interface name in the command with the actual name of the interface that the wireless network is on that you want to export as a backup.
• If you want to back up the Wireless Key (password), add "key=clear" after the profile "profile name" section in each of the above commands (needs administrator rights)

For example:
netsh wlan export profile "SSID1" interface="Wi-Fi" folder="%UserProfile%\Desktop"



Exporting Wireless Profiles

To restore a Wireless Profile for the Current User only
netsh wlan add profile filename="\path\to\file.xml" user=current

To restore a Wireless Profile for All Users
netsh wlan add profile filename="\path\to\file.xml" user=all


Regards,

The Outspoken Wookie

Microsoft's Broken Store Upgrade to 8.1

After spending well over 8 hours trying to work through this issue, including a reasonable amount of Google searching, it seems to me that Microsoft has royally fucked up the Microsoft Store Windows 8.1 Upgrade for Windows 8.0 users.  And now, I'll explain it in a little more depth...

For anyone who needs/wants to reinstall their Windows 8 (RTM), then activate with their license key, then install the updates needed (KB2871389 and KB2917499) to get the Windows 8.1 upgrade from the Microsoft Store and upgrade to Windows 8.1, you're in for a bit of a shock if you need to run applications that need the .NET Framework 3.5 (or 3.0 or 2.0) Feature that's normally installable via either the Control Panel or a particular invocation of the DISM command.

If you try and install via Windows Update, you'll be presented with the following error message:

Windows couldn't connect to the Internet to download necessary files. Error code: 0x800F0906 (which, of course, is bullshit if you've got a functional Internet connection - this is an erroneous error message)

If instead you try the DISM way, you'll see either the above error code or the following:

•0x800F081F: The changes could not be completed.

The reason for this, it seems, is because downloading the Windows 8.1 Upgrade from the Microsoft Store gives you the latest slipstreamed install of Windows 8.1 with almost all current Updates and HotFixes. Normally that would be great as it means that you don't need to bother performing a boatload of updates after installing the Windows 8.1 Upgrade, except that it seems that Microsoft has chosen to include in the slipstreamed Upgrade, HotFixes KB2966826 and KB2966828 (see: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows8_1-winapps/cant-enable-or-install-net-framework-35-in-windows/2f221b25-8d17-421f-8c37-1fed61649b4f) which are .NET 3.5 updates, meaning that until you uninstall these (which you cannot do if you've installed the 8.1 Upgrade from the Microsoft Store) you are what's known in the trade as SOL if you want to install .NET 3.5 (including 3.0 and 2.0) in a newly installed Win 8.0/8.1 from the Store.

As mentioned in that answers.microsoft.com thread, if these have been installed as part of the regular Microsoft Update regime before .NET 3.5 is even installed, it is a simple enough task to uninstall them, install .NET 3.5 and then reinstall these updates.  This is not the case with the slipstreamed Windows 8.1 Upgrade from the Microsoft Store as these updates seem to have been slipstreamed into the installer, meaning that they don't show as updates that can be uninstalled, therefore they can't be uninstalled, therefore you CANNOT install .NET 3.5 on this system - that leaves a lot of software that won't install nor run properly.

Out of interest, this thread also details issues with these updates - so it isn't just on Microsoft's own site that this issue has been discussed.

I have found - as expected - that even if you install .Net 3.5 in Windows 8.0 before performing the Microsoft Store upgrade to Windows 8.1, Windows 8.1 is installed with .Net 3.5 uninstalled.  As I said, I expected this behaviour and would have been rather surprised if this had actually worked.

It seems to me that the easiest fix for this is to re-release both of these HotFixes with better pre-requisite detection and also rebuild the Microsoft Store upgrade image so that these two HotFixes are not included, or alternatively, fix the Windows Update site so that if a Windows 8.1 system with these updates already installed, but .Net 3.5 not yet installed, goes out looking for the .Net 3.5 installation files, it provides a working set of files that will install the .Net 3.5 Feature.


Until then, good luck if you need to get the .Net 3.5 Feature installed on a Windows 8.1 system recently upgraded from Windows 8.0 through the Microsoft Store.

Regards,

The Outspoken Wookie

Custom Outlook.com and Windows Live Domains

Windows Live Admin Center

Changes to custom domains with Outlook.com

Outlook.com no longer offers support for new custom domain sign ups. New customers looking to manage custom domains are encouraged to use Office 365, Microsoft's premium online service, which also includes enterprise-class mail, collaboration and communication tools.

Explore Office 365 subscriptions

If you currently use custom domains with Outlook.com

We will continue to support the ability to log in to Outlook.com with your existing custom domain email address, but in the future, you will no longer be able to add or remove accounts in your domain.

For domain administrators who wish to continue to manage email addresses in their domain, we will be providing the option to migrate your account to Office 365. As part of Office 365, you will be able to continue managing your custom domains, as well as use many additional productivity tools including shared calendars, cloud storage and instant messaging.

Current customers using custom domains with Outlook.com will be notified via email in the coming weeks with further details and instructions on how to migrate.

----------

What a complete bunch of bastards!!!  :(

Regards,

The Outspoken Wookie

Making Google the Default Search Provider in IE10 and IE11

I hate that you can't do this directly in Internet Explorer as Microsoft wants us to use the appalling Bing search (sic) engine.  So, instead, just click on http://www.iegallery.com/en-US/Addons/Details/813 and add this as a Search Engine, then go to Manage Add-Ons and ensure the "Search in the address bar" checkbox is checked (should be), change the listing order to make Bing feel even more unloved and your searches in IE will finally be functional! :)

UPDATE: Microsoft has made it even harder to make Google the default search engine.  You nowe have to go to the URL above, which Microsoft will redirect, then you need to go to the URL again for the Google Search option to appear.  Go Microsoft - you bastards!

Regards,

The Outspoken Wookie

Bootable Windows Server 2012 ISO

Back in the Windows F^HVista/7 and Server 2008/2008R2 days, it was possible to install an operating system instance without needing to input a key during the installation process.  You could use various methods to make a bootable OS Install USB key then simply remove the \sources\ei.cfg file and you'd be able to choose between all the versions of the OS inside the boot.wim file - this was very handy!

Microsoft has made a change since Windows Server 2012/Windows 8 whereby they don't allow you to install Windows without the use of a Product Key.  There is no ei.cfg file in the \sources folder and you are forced to input a Product Key during installation.

Well, there's a simple way to work around this to not only create a bootable USB Key that doesn't need a Product Key during install (and lets you choose among the multiple OS variants in the boot.wim file), but also to re-create a bootable ISO image so that you can then mount this as an installation media source in Hyper-V!

The steps to achieve these goals are:

• First, you'll need to download a Windows Server 2012 or Windows Server 2012 R2 ISO image or use the VL ISO image you already have there.  Then you'll need to either extract this image to a folder, or better still, just run the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool as detailed in this post and make yourself a bootable USB key that allows for quite quick OS installs.
  
• Now, you'll need to copy the following into a new file called ei.cfg in the \sources folder of the USB key:
  [Channel]
  Retail
  [VL]
  1
• If you only need the bootable USB key, you can stop here, however if you now wish to recreate the ISO image file so that you can then use this modified image in a Hyper-V environment...
• Download and install the Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit (ADK) for Windows 8 (yes, all 3GB of it!) to give you access to both the Deployment and Imaging Tools, which you will need to install (the other components of the WDK are optional)
• Now, to create an ISO image that will work with BIOS-based systems, assuming the USB Key we just made is available at U: and you're creating the ISO image on D:
  
  • Run the Deployment and Imaging Tools Environment (Command Prompt) as Administrator, change to the "amd64\oscdimg" folder and then type the following:
  • oscdimg.exe –l<disc_label> -m -u2 –b<path_of_bootable_img_file> <path_of_installation_source> <path_where_ISO_is_to_be_created>
  • Please see this link for an explanation of the oscdimg.exe command-line options
  • Example:
    oscdimg.exe -l2K12R2BIOS -m -u2 -b"U:\boot\etfsboot.com" "U:\" "D:\2K12R2-BIOS.iso"
• If you wish to create an ISO image that will work on both BIOS-based and UEFI-based systems such as a Hyper-V 2012 R2 Gen 2 guest instance, assuming the USB Key we just made is available at U: and you're creating the ISO image on D: (this uses a modified version of the instructions found here):
  
  • Run the Deployment and Imaging Tools Environment (Command Prompt) as Administrator, change to the "..\Windows Preinstallation Environment" folder
  • Type copype.cmd amd64 winpe_x64 This command creates the directory structure and copies the required files.
  • Now, copy winpe_x64/fwfiles/efisys.bin U:\boot to keep a copy on the USB key
  • Change back to the "..\Deployment Tools\amd64\oscdimg" folder, then type oscdimg -m -o -u2 -udfver102 -bootdata:2#p0,e,b"U:\boot\etfsboot.com"#pEF,e,b"U:\boot\efisys.bin" "U:\" "D:\2K12R2-UEFI.iso"
  • Update: I have thought this through a little more and found an even easier way to achieve this. :)
  • Run the Deployment and Imaging Tools Environment (Command Prompt) as Administrator, change to the "amd64\oscdimg" folder and then type the following:
  • oscdimg -l2K12R2UEFI -m -o -u2 -udfver102 -bootdata:2#p0,e,b"U:\boot\etfsboot.com"#pEF,e,b"U:\efi\microsoft\boot\efisys.bin" "U:\" "D:\2K12R2-UEFI.iso"
  • Please see the original post (here) for more information on the command-line options used.
• Now, you can burn this ISO image to a DVD or simply use it as the source for a Hyper-V guest and because it contains both the BIOS and UEFI boot data, it can be used to install either a Gen 1 (BIOS) or Gen 2 (UEFI) Hyper-V Guest. :)

* I have updated this post at: http://hiltont.blogspot.com.au/2016/11/bootable-windows-server-2016-uefi-iso.html

Enjoy!


Regards,

The Outspoken Wookie

Office 2013 hits RTM

Microsoft has announced that their latest Office suite - Office 2013 - has just been released to manufacturing.  General availability will be January 2013 (just after the FSMas rush - I think that was badly timed), however the roll out of versions will start in November 2012 to Office 365 Enterprise customers (some features, most likely not all in the initial upgrade), followed by existing Software Assurance customers in mid November and new Licensing customers in December 2012.

Anyone who purchases Office 2010 from October 19th will be eligible for a free upgrade (costs for postage, if required) to Office 2013 when it is available in 2013.

Microsoft's Office News blog had this to say about Office 2013:

This is the most ambitious release of Office we've ever done. It spans the full family of Office applications, servers and cloud services. The new Office has a fresh, touch friendly design that works beautifully on Windows 8 and unlocks modern scenarios in social, reading, note-taking, meetings and communications. We are proud to achieve this milestone and are eager to deliver this exciting release to our customers.

Regards,

The Outspoken Wookie

Windows Experience Index - Windows 8

The WEI scoring system has changed a fair bit since it was introduced in Windows F^HVista and the version that's in Windows 8 extends the Windows Experience from a highest result of 7.9 (as per Windows 7) up to a top of 9.9.  Here's the link to my Windows 7 Experience Index post.

For a decent read about what the Windows Experience Index involves, have a read of this. It doesn't go into a lot of technical depth, however it is enlightening.

Now, I have a few computers here right now that I'm running Windows 8 on and below I've listed the scores as well as scores from other people's computers that I've been able to verify. I'm particularly interested in the HDD/SSD and RAM scores for use in regular daily office use. CPU usage is rarely ever an issue (on modern PCs), but more so as a comparison between tablets, ultrabooks, notebooks and desktops to see if one could be usable for extended periods.  The component/figure in bold is the base score (determined by the lowest subscore).  Also, as more figures are obtained, I'll add them to this table.

(If you want to send me details to add to this list, please send the following:
* Screen capture of Control Panel\System and Security\System
* Screen capture of Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Performance Information and Tools
* Screen Capture of Device Manager showing your HDDs (and highlighting the Primary HDD if you have more than 1 installed)
* A zipped HTML output from CPU-z
as all of the above give me the detail I need to complete this table.)

System	Component	Score
Alan Burchill's Desktop Win 8 Pro x64	CPU - Core i7 2700K @ 3.50GHz RAM - 16GB RAM Graphics - Unknown Gaming Graphics - Unknown Primary SSD - Intel X25-M 160 GB	7.9 7.9 7.5 7.5 7.6
Roy Adams' Dell M4700 Win 8 Pro x64	CPU - Core i7 3740QM @ 2.70GHz RAM - GB RAM Graphics - Intel HD 4000 Gaming Graphics -Intel HD 4000 Primary SSD - Samsung PM830 256 GB	7.9 7.9 6.7 6.7 8.1
Hilton's Desktop Bus Speed O/C to 166 MHz Win 8 Pro x64	CPU - Core i7 920 @ 2.67GHz RAM - 3*4 GB A-RAM PC-12000 (1600 MHz) Graphics - 2 * Gigabyte HD4850 Fanless Gaming Graphics - 2 * GV-R485MC-1GI Primary SSD - A-RAM AR120GBE 120 GB	7.5 7.5 7.2 7.2 7.7
Dell XPS L501x Notebook Win 8 Pro x64	CPU - Core i7-740QM @ 1.73 GHz RAM - 2*4GB HMT351S6BFR8C-H9 (667 MHz) Graphics - nVidia GeForce GT435M 2GB Gaming Graphics - nVidia GeForce GT435M 2GB Primary HDD - Toshiba MK6461GSY 640 GB	7.1 7.4 5.6 6.6 5.9
Dell XPS 12 Notebook Win 8 Pro x64	CPU - Core i7-3537U @ 2.00 GHz RAM - 2*4GB DDR3 (667 MHz) Graphics - Intel HD 4000 2GB Gaming Graphics - Intel HD 4000 2GB Primary SSD - LITEONIT LMT-256M6M 256 GB	7.1 7.4 5.4 6.4 8.1

Mobility Computing - Microsoft & Apple

As will be patently obvious to anyone who has read anything I've written on tech in the past, I'm most definitely not an Apple fanboi nor do I wear the rose-colored glasses that the Microsoft mindwashed crowd wear, either - I simply call it as I see it.

Back when the Symbian OS was considered half decent, Microsoft had their Windows Mobile SmartPhone OS and RIM had Blackberry.  Right up front I'm going to pretty much ignore RIM and Blackberry here as I operate in the SMB world and in this market, RIM has never held a market share percentage easily distinguishable from zero.  Symbian was OK, but nothing to write home about.  I tried it on a few handsets and was never really a fan.  Microsoft's Windows Mobile - though bloated and ugly by today's standards - was quite usable as a SmartPhone OS and had email that connected quite effectively to Exchange Server for business users.  Aside from the terrible Office Mobile suite, Windows Mobile basically worked.

And then through a number of version upgrades, a trend became glaringly obvious - Microsoft had pretty much abandoned any idea of making this usable.  After seeing this trend and hoping I was misreading it, I eventually wrote this article in June 2008 where I accused Microsoft of treating Windows Mobile like a redheaded stepchild.  Around 15 months later in September 2009, Steve Ballmer admitted that he screwed up with the SmartPhone market and that they were going to address this.

Windows Phone 7 was announced in February 2010 and devices running this OS were finally available for sale in October 2010 - 8 months later.  Even now, in June, 2012, Windows Phone barely makes a blip on the radar of Mobile OS usage - even the Nokia Series 40 OS out-ranks it!

Microsoft had already effectively killed off their Windows Mobile platform by simply ignoring it so when Windows Phone 7 finally launched, the fact that all Windows Mobile handsets and applications were incompatible with it wasn't a big deal to *most* people.  One big reason for this is that most of those who were previously using a Windows Mobile handset had since bought an Apple iPhone or one of the Google Android handsets.

Microsoft released the "Mango" Windows Phone 7.5 upgrade in late 2011 and a minor "Tango" update in early 2012.  On June 20, 2012, Microsoft announced Windows Phone 8 and an upcoming and final update to the Windows Phone 7 platform - Windows Phone 7.8 - that will backport some of the features of Windows Phone 8, but not application compatibility.

WTF???

That's right - Microsoft has announced that Windows Phone 8 will run on a different CPU architecture - partly because they couldn't shoe-horn a decent OS into a single core CPU (iOS and Android can, though) - which means that any new Windows Phone 8.x applications will not run on Windows Phone 7.x handsets.  What's worse, though, is that this means that all currently available Windows Phone 7.x handsets will absolutely not be upgradeable to Windows Phone 8.

So, anyone who has bought a Windows Phone 7.x handset is now SOL when it comes to worthwhile OS upgrades - they are simply not going to happen.  Sure, the few people who own Windows Phone handsets will be disappointed by Microsoft shafting them once again, but as there are < 5% of SmartPhone users running Windows Phone 7 handsets, this will not have any great affect on the OS share of Windows Phone as a whole.

Now, will running the Windows 8 kernel on a SmartPhone under Windows Phone 8 be viable?  Well, it will be optimized to run on a quad core CPU (which not only means that it NEEDS serious grunt, therefore battery drain, it is also reasonable as mobility CPUs are migrating past dual core to quad core now anyway) and it may mean that Metro apps that will run on Windows 8 and Windows RT could also run on Windows Phone - that would be nice.  We'll have to wait and see...

Apple, on the other hand, has just announced that iOS 6 will be released soon and it supports all of their currently selling devices.  Not all features will be made available, however, and whilst some of these are for performance reasons, a number are purely corporate decisions, which is causing a bit of a stir with many commentators claiming that not properly supporting current devices where possible is not acceptable.  Just wait until they see what Microsoft's done to all of their currently available Windows Phone handsets!  :)

Android - well, there's a conundrum.  The vast majority of Android users are on rather old versions of the operating system and very few are running the current release - Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0.x) - because the many and varied devices running Android require their manufacturers to customize ICS for their devices before having it released.  Manufacturers like Toshiba who are glacially slow to release ICS for their Thrive (AT100) tablets are causing their customers to look at other manufacturers for future devices.  Why would you buy another device from the manufacturer who has just shafted you on the device they are currently selling?

And now Android Jelly Bean (4.1.x) has been "announced" on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus smartphone.  Google really needs to try and get their shit together here and ensure developers are releasing updates for their devices in a timely fashion - there are still quite a number of Froyo and Gingerbread devices being sold without any ability to upgrade, not to mention the Honeycomb devices still being sold.

So, will the new Windows Phone 8 work?  Microsoft's currently making a last ditch attempt at re-entering the mobility market.  They once owned and then ignored away their SmartPhone market share to Apple/Android and they have previously pretty much owned the tablet market with Windows XP Tablet Edition and the tablet features in F^HVista and Windows 7 even though they have completely disregarded touch functionality up until Metro.  This will be an interesting time for Microsoft in the mobility market - with the newly announced Microsoft Surface Windows RT/Windows 8 tablets and Windows Phone 8 they have one last chance to show the world that they have something decent to offer.  If the Windows Surface tablets omit integrated 3G/4G functionality, though, it shows how little Microsoft actually understands about mobility today.

... and now for some rather telling graphs: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_operating_system showing the mobility space as it currently stands today.  Notice that there's no "Microsoft" anywhere on those graphs...

Regards,

The Outspoken Wookie

Windows 8 Tablet PC Part II

So, after spending a little while using Windows 8 x86 on this Tablet PC (Slate) I have started to restore the Windows 7 image backup I took before installing Windows 8.

The *main* issue I have is the seriously reduced functionality of the "Desktop" in Windows 8 - there's no Start Menu any more and clicking on what appears in place of the Windows 7 Pearl just takes you back to the (currently - this is pre-beta) almost totally non functional Metro UI.  If this is what Microsoft relegates the desktop to, then I can't see anyone except personal (home) users and tablet users looking at Windows 8 - Enterprise and SMB clients will not be able to function in a barely usable desktop environment as I can *guarantee* you that very, very few of the LOB vendors out there will release their apps through the Microsoft Win 8 App Store as full-screen (Metro-style) apps.  And the "just use search, not the Start Menu" response Microsoft gives is a crock - especially on a Slate!

Obviously, as all of the tiles in the Metro UI are place holders except "Explorer", "Desktop" and "Control Panel", it is next to useless right now - however that aside, it *does* seem to be an interesting way to handle a Touch UI and I'm sure when devs start releasing apps that will work, it will become quite nice.  Right now, however, there's nothing useful in it at all.

So, back to Windows 7 I come.  This is disappointing as this is the fastest I have ever returned to a previous OS when starting to beta test the next one.  :(


Regards,

The Outspoken Wookie

Windows 8 Tablet PC

Well, I just (as in just) booted my no-name Chinese Slate PC into Windows 8 (Developer Preview) x64 and it seems to be basically working - most of the hardware was detected and seems to function.  Of course, the 3DSP BT/WLAN card didn't function and the Windows 7 drivers supplied with the tablet are only x86 drivers, however I found x64 drivers at Syntek Semiconductor site - but they also didn't do the trick.  So... back to x86 I go!  :(

The Slate PC (Tablet) I have can be found here at DinoDirect - however don't bet on it being shipped with a functional 3G device - mine's totally non-functional.  That aside, I'm pretty happy with the rest of it.  Obviously the 3DSP Bluetooth/Wi-Fi card is a bit of a pain and I may well look around and see if I can find a card with functional x64 drivers - though it works fine in x86 (as supplied with the Tablet).

As to Windows 8, well since most of the Metro style buttons are only there for show and as the older Windows 7 interface is pretty much only partially functional, I don't know how long I'll be able to run with this on my Tablet for now, but soon, no doubt, things will be picking up speed with Windows 8!  :)


Regards,

The Outspoken Wookie

Windows 8, Hyper-V And Power Saving

Well, it seems that the updated version of Hyper-V that will be included in x64 builds of Windows 8 will allow the PC to sleep and hibernate, unlike that in the current Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 version of Hyper-V.

That's great news as it means that people who want and/or need to run Hyper-V guests on their desktop can now do so and retain the power-saving functionality built into the operating system - something I've been a little concerned about since I started running WS2K8R2E on my desktop to gain access to Hyper-V functionality.

Hyper-V in Windows 8 will also support Wi-Fi NICs - as this blog post details.



Regards,

The Outspoken Wookie