Just got this tweet from the Building Windows 8 twitter account: 

Announce...Windows 8 Release Preview first week of June. Here's the announce from Japan's Windows 8 Dev Days # thankyou http://pic.twitter.com/ndRmXzJK

So, the RC is coming in June.  Looks like an October release to manufacturers is still forthcoming.

Davef

Customers Find Success With Microsoft Private Cloud

April 17, 2012 — Today at the sold-out Microsoft Management Summit, Corporate Vice President Brad Anderson spoke to nearly 5,000 IT professionals and said:

“Cloud computing gives IT professionals an opportunity to increase their strategic value to their businesses while building new skills,” Anderson said. “Microsoft’s private cloud solutions help IT professionals become cloud innovators for their companies, managing and delivering the applications people need to be productive across private, hybrid and public clouds.”  In addition, Anderson provided a preview of how Microsoft’s private cloud will become even more powerful with Windows Server “8” and announced that the operating system will officially be named Windows Server 2012. The new “cloud-optimized OS” is due out later this year.

  LOL!

DaveF

Just a reminder to all my readers and to myself: It is ALWAYS DNS. If you’re having problems with the Active Directory, Exchange, Lync, or any other server or role that uses DNS to find itself and components on other servers it needs to talk to—it’s DNS.

You can count on it.

I just got this press release from Microsoft Learning:

Move Your Career to the Cloud with the Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert certification

Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert (MCSE) is a reinvented certification for today’s technology solutions

Microsoft has reinvented its certification program by building a broader and deeper set of technology solutions skills validation, starting with cloud-enabled solution skills. As one of the most recognized and respected certification programs, Microsoft is charting the path for IT Professionals and Developers to keep their skills relevant as new technology solutions are released.

Reinvented, Not Just Renamed

Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert (MCSE) emphasizes solutions

Microsoft has reinvented its certifications to validate the skill sets needed to develop, deploy, and maintain Microsoft technology solutions. These certifications recognize IT Pros and Developers who have skill sets that run both broad and deep. Certifications are available at three skill levels:

Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA)

The Associate level is the prerequisite certification necessary to get your Expert level certification.  This certification validates the core skills you need to get your 1st job in IT.  

Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert (MCSE) &
Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer (MCSD)

The Expert level is Microsoft’s flagship set of certifications validating that your skills are relevant in the constantly changing tech environment. The Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert (MCSE) is the destination for established IT Professionals who have expertise working with Microsoft technology solutions.  The Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer (MCSD) is the destination for established Developers who have expertise developing solutions with Microsoft tools.

Microsoft Certified Solutions Master (MCSM)

After you have achieved your Expert level certification, Master is the next destination.  This certification is for the select few who wish to further differentiate themselves from their peers and achieve the highest level of skills validation.

Read more at:  Certification Overview

Dear Readers,

I still am a MCSE – A Microsoft Certified System Engineer – and I rather liked that title.  I’m not sure I’m going to like getting a NEW MCSE.

What do YOU think?

Davef

A great article from the Wall Street Journal on the PROBLEMS tablets can cause IT departments.  The problems aren’t insurmountable, but they need to be acknowledged and planned for.

My favorite quote: 

Ultimately, companies need to recognize that tablets are a new breed of devices that require new methods of management. Says Lars Kamp, strategy lead for Accenture Mobility Services, part of consultants ACN Ltd.: "Don't think tablets are an extension of existing legacy IT systems. They are not."

Company's Most Common Tablet Mistakes - WSJ.com

Here are some new ways Microsoft Certifications can help you keep your skills—and your careers—current. So Microsoft Learning is sharing insider insights about how their certifications are evolving to match tech industry trends.

From Microsoft Learning:

The tech industry has changed a lot of over the last 20 years, and we’ve continually updated Microsoft Certifications to keep pace with it. In previous post, we discussed how we’ve kept the certifications relevant to changing technologies. So how do Microsoft Certifications help you to keep your skills relevant in today’s rapidly changing tech landscape?

You’ve probably noticed that IT Technology cycles continue to compress. The advantages of Microsoft’s private cloud solution mean that it is easier and quicker than ever to develop and deploy new applications in a private cloud datacenter. And the software companies you depend on for your tools and environment—like Microsoft—have compressed their cycles, too. That means new more change, more often, as your work environment updates with new software and technologies.

Microsoft Certification continually updates too, to help you keep your skills up to date in this changing environment. We’re keeping Microsoft Certifications current with more streamlined, solutions-based certification paths covering the latest trends in the industry. For example, in addition to our upcoming Private Cloud certification, a Windows 8 Certification is coming soon.

And having a Microsoft Certification sends a clear message to employers that you have proven skills in the latest technologies. For instance, a 2011 CompTIA study found that IT professionals gain an average 9% salary increase immediately after receiving certification, and 29% over the long term, versus peers who are not certified (channelinsider.com, 2011-10-19). And in a in a 2010 survey of hiring managers, 91% said they consider employee certification as a criterion for hiring (Microsoft Learning, 2010).

We’re keeping Microsoft Certification current so you can keep your skills—and your career—current. You can get prepared now for Windows 8 Certification by upgrading your certification to MCITP: Enterprise desktop 7 .

I am a certified MCITP: Enterprise Desktop 7, among others.  I really believe in the benefit of certification, not only to prove you know something about the product, but as an excellent way to learn a very broad range of skills for that product.  Very often, we become experts in some technology we use for our jobs, say Windows Server or SharePoint, but since our organization might not use every feature, bell or whistle that a product can do, we really have no expertise on these other things.  Certification and training lets you know and understand all the features.  Who knows, maybe you can be the one to suggest a new way to use a product your organization already owns, and then become the latest IT Hero!

The TechNet Poster Guy is AWESOME!  Check out his new Windows Server 8 Beta Architecture poster here:

Quote: 

Exciting news today, the new “Windows Server “8” Beta Hyper-V Component Architecture Poster“ is now available for download. My inbox has been over flowing with requests for this poster, so I’m delighted to make this available.

You can download it here: http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=29189

This is a beta edition poster, so keep an eye out for the final version. If you’re able to get to Tech Ed this year, drop by and pick up a printed copy or two.

: Unquote

Read more below:

The NEW Windows Server “8” Beta Hyper-V Component Architecture Poster is available ... Its FREE - ThePosterGuy - Site Home - TechNet Blogs

Here’s a new list from a third party:

Key	Action
Windows logo key+spacebar	Switch input language and keyboard layout
Windows logo key+O	Locks device orientation
Windows logo key+,	Temporarily peeks at the desktop
Windows logo key+V	Cycles through toasts
Windows logo key+Shift+V	Cycles through toasts in reverse order
Windows logo key+Enter	Launches Narrator
Windows logo key+PgUp	Moves Start Screen or Metro style application to the monitor on the left
Windows logo key+PgDown	Moves Start Screen or Metro style application to the monitor on the right
Windows logo key+Shift+.	Moves the gutter to the left (snaps an application)
Windows logo key+.	Moves the gutter to the right (snaps an application)
Windows logo key+ C	Opens Charms bar
Windows logo key+I	Opens Settings charm
Windows logo key+K	Opens Connect charm
Windows logo key+H	Opens Share charm
Windows logo key+Q	Opens Search pane
Windows logo key+W	Opens Settings Search app
Windows logo key+F	Opens File Search app
Windows logo key+Tab	Cycles through apps
Windows logo key+Shift+Tab	Cycles through apps in reverse order
Windows logo key+Ctrl+Tab	Cycles through apps and snaps them as they are cycled
Windows logo key+Z	Opens App Bar
Windows logo key+/	Initiates input method editor (IME) reconversion
Windows logo key+J	Swaps foreground between the snapped and filled apps

Semantic zooming is performed by holding down control and using the mouse wheel.

Microsoft Learning has asked me to occasionally blog about Training and Certification issues.  As a Microsoft Certified Trainer, I am more than pleased to do so.  Here’s an article they sent me that really covers the one of the new certification areas: Private Cloud, Hyper-V, and virtualization.  I use Hyper-V all the time.  With the new 2012 System Center product line coming out I am now immersing myself into the private cloud.  See how you can do so too and develop skills relevant to today’s (and tomorrow’s) technology:

Over the past 20 years, Microsoft Certifications have continually stayed relevant to the needs of technology professionals and the companies that employ them. We’ve already discussed how we’ve kept our exam development process relevant. So now let’s look at some of the ways we’re keeping the certifications themselves relevant to changing technologies.

And speaking of changing technologies, IT departments all over the world have heard the news:

By pooling resources across the datacenter and the enterprise and offering an elastic and usage-based self-service model, a private cloud solution simplifies deployment, maintenance, and cost, while increasing agility and power.

And this paradigm shift in computing means a paradigm shift in the skills IT professionals will need to configure, deploy, monitor, and operate private cloud solutions of today—and tomorrow. The increased capacity and capability of Private Cloud solutions means that IT Professionals and Developers will need to have a new and broader set of skills.

Microsoft Learning is addressing this need for new skills by ensuring it offers training and certifications that enable IT Pros and Developers to develop and validate their skill sets across this new range of skills with a focus on specific technology solutions. One example of this effort is the recently announced private cloud certification . Available as a Beta release in April, the certification starts with the foundation of current Windows Server 2008 exams, and adds two new System Center 2012 exams, currently in beta.

Get started today by heading over to the Microsoft Private Cloud Certification Overview page. That’s where you can prepare and practice for the certification, sign up for our upcoming Private Cloud Jump Start course, and get a head start on your private cloud certification by starting your MCITP Server Administrator certification.

The traditional datacenter model is changing rapidly—and Microsoft Certification continues to change with it, to help you keep your skills relevant in the new world of the private cloud.

Great! 

I just installed Windows 8 CTP in Hyper-V as a virtual machine.  I then set it up to boot to VHD.  All went well!

How to do this (After installing Win 8 CTP as a VM):

1. From Server Manager (remember, this is on the Windows Server 2008 R2 parent platform running Hyper-V), expand Storage.

2. Right-click Disk Management, select Attach Virtual Hard Disk dialog box, click Browse.

3. Browse to the location of the .vhd file for Windows 8, which in my case was d:\Program Files\Microsoft Learning\Windows8, and select the .vhd file, in my case I had named it windows8.vhd. Click windows8.vhd, open, then OK. note the drive letter that Windows associates with the attached .vhd. In my case, it was F:\.

4.Click Start, go to Command Prompt, right-click it and select Run as Administrator. Yes, if required, to the UAC pop-up.

5. At the command prompt, type bcdboot F:\windows Note I used the drive letter Windows assigned in 3 above.

6. At the command prompt, type bcdedit /set {default} Description Windows 8

7. At the command prompt, type shutdown /r /t 0 The system reboots.

8.  Select Windows 8 as in the boot menu.  Enjoy!